The Development of Anxiety in Youth Study (DAYS): A Prospective Study of Trajectories of Brain Maturation among Youth at Risk for Anxiety

Adriana Galván ,Tara S Peris

doi:10.20900/jpbs.20200025

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are common across development and are associated with significant functional impairment and distress. Despite neuroimaging advancements in uncovering key brain regions, including the amygdala and prefrontal regions, implicated in anxiety, there is a need to characterize the role of the ventral striatum given its well-documented link to several key anxiety processes. This study aims to characterize specific neural mechanisms that underlie the evolution of illness and impairment using a longitudinal design and to move beyond traditional case control designs to provide a more comprehensive view of the developmental psychopathology of pediatric anxiety.

Highlights

Anxiety disorders occur commonly among children and adolescents [1], and they are associated with substantial distress and impairment [2]
This work pinpoints the amygdala (AMY) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex as central hubs in a fear circuit that includes the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) [10,11,12]. In both animal studies and human subject research, atypical responses to threat are reported in these regions both among adolescents with anxiety disorders and among those with a history of behavioral inhibition (BI) [11,12,13,14,15]
Our work has examined how the interplay of approach, avoidance, and cognitive control circuitry explains the propensity for increased risk-taking during adolescence, revealing that, among TD youth, subcortical regions underlying approach behaviors show greater governance over behavior compared to the prefrontal regions that underlie regulation and inhibition [29,30,31]

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Anxiety disorders occur commonly among children and adolescents [1], and they are associated with substantial distress and impairment [2]. This work pinpoints the amygdala (AMY) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) as central hubs in a fear circuit that includes the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) [10,11,12] In both animal studies and human subject research, atypical responses to threat are reported in these regions both among adolescents with anxiety disorders and among those with a history of behavioral inhibition (BI) [11,12,13,14,15]. Other research has focused on approach systems, the ventral striatum, finding evidence for heightened striatal sensitivity among adolescents with a history of BI [20,21,22] and/or current anxiety disorder [23]. These rich data will permit a holistic examination of the underlying antecedents, mechanisms and behavioral patterns that will help guide treatment

A Neurodevelopmental Framework

AIMS OF THE GRANT

PROCEDURES

Findings

CONCLUSIONS