Abstract
Background: Brain development is of utmost importance for the emergence of psychiatric disorders, as the most severe of them arise before 25 years old. However, little is known regarding how early transdiagnostic symptoms, in a dimensional framework, are associated with cortical development. Anxiety and irritability are central vulnerability traits for subsequent mood and anxiety disorders. In this study, we investigate how these dimensions are related to structural changes in the brain to understand how they may increase the transition risk to full-blown disorders.Methods: We used the opportunity of an open access developmental cohort, the Healthy Brain Network, to investigate associations between cortical surface markers and irritability and anxiety scores as measured by parents and self-reports.Results: We found that in 658 young people (with a mean age of 11.6) the parental report of irritability is associated with decreased surface area in the bilateral rostral prefrontal cortex and the precuneus. Furthermore, parental reports of anxiety were associated with decreased local gyrification index in the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.Conclusions: These results are consistent with current models of emotion regulation network maturation, showing decreased surface area or gyrification index in regions associated with impaired affective control in mood and anxiety disorders. Our results highlight how dimensional traits may increase vulnerability for these disorders.
Highlights
The emergence of severe psychiatric disorders, in particular during adolescence, has been the focus of a rising interest in psychiatric neuroscience research [1]
Mean age is around 11–12 years old, depending on the subsample for Affective Reactivity Index (ARI) parents report, ARI self-report, Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) parents report or SCARED self-report (Table 1)
A correlation was found between the ARI and SCARED self-reports [r(527) = 0.34, p
Summary
The emergence of severe psychiatric disorders, in particular during adolescence, has been the focus of a rising interest in psychiatric neuroscience research [1]. Different signs and symptoms can be regarded as common precursors, emphasizing the need to study them as vulnerability factors. In this context, the dimensional model (RDoC) has gained significant popularity. The dimensional model (RDoC) has gained significant popularity It postulates the isolation of relevant clinical symptoms, or prodromal signs, with increased probability to relate them to biological underpinnings. This is central for early detection and diagnosis, leading to improved treatment and outcome [3]. We investigate how these dimensions are related to structural changes in the brain to understand how they may increase the transition risk to full-blown disorders
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