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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research article

White matter abnormalities in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study

Authors: Mei Liao, Fan Yang, Yan Zhang, Zhong He, Linyan Su, Lingjiang Li

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Background

Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested an abnormal neural circuitry of emotion regulation including the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in both adult and adolescent generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients. Aberrant integrity of white matter in this neural circuitry has been verified in adult GAD patients. White matter abnormalities in adolescent GAD patients have not been detected.

Methods

Twenty-five adolescents with GAD and 24 healthy controls underwent a diffusion tensor imaging scan. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was compared between groups with a voxel-wise Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) analysis method.

Results

Compared with healthy controls, adolescents with GAD showed significantly reduced FA in bilateral uncinate fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and corona radiata.

Conclusions

The findings in the present study suggest a neural basis of emotion dysregulation in adolescent GAD patients.
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Metadata
Title
White matter abnormalities in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study
Authors
Mei Liao
Fan Yang
Yan Zhang
Zhong He
Linyan Su
Lingjiang Li
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-14-41

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