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NEUROANATOMIC ABNORMALITIES IN ADOLESCENTS WITH GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER: A VOXEL‐BASED MORPHOMETRY STUDY
Author(s) -
Strawn Jeffrey R.,
Wehry Anna M.,
Chu WenJang,
Adler Caleb M.,
Eliassen James C.,
Cerullo Michael A.,
Strakowski Stephen M.,
DelBello Melissa P.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.22089
Subject(s) - precuneus , generalized anxiety disorder , voxel based morphometry , psychology , anxiety , white matter , superior frontal gyrus , middle temporal gyrus , precentral gyrus , middle frontal gyrus , neuroscience , voxel , grey matter , audiology , psychiatry , medicine , cognition , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology
Background Despite recent data implicating functional abnormalities in the neurocircuitry underlying emotional processing in pediatric anxiety disorders, little is known regarding neurostructural abnormalities within these systems. Methods Using voxel‐based morphometry, gray and white matter volumes were compared in 15 medication‐free adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; and no comorbid major depressive disorder) and 28 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy comparison subjects. Results Compared to healthy adolescents, youth with GAD had larger gray matter volumes in the right precuneus and right precentral gyrus and decreased gray matter volumes in the left orbital gyrus and posterior cingulate. White matter volumes were decreased in the left medial and superior frontal gyrus and were increased in the left inferior temporal gyrus in youth with GAD relative to healthy subjects. Conclusions Adolescents with GAD, who are early in the course of their illness, exhibit abnormalities in neural structures that subserve threat appraisal, modulation of fear responses, attachment, and mentalization.