Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Apr 4;24(1):257. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05725-z.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have identified brain changes associated with anxiety disorders (ADs), but the results remain mixed, particularly at a younger age. One key predictor of ADs is behavioral inhibition (BI), a childhood tendency for high avoidance of novel stimuli. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between candidate brain regions, BI, and ADs among children using baseline data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
We analyzed global and regional brain volumes of 9,353 children (9-10 years old) in relation to BI and current ADs, using linear mixed models accounting for family clustering and important demographic and socioeconomic covariates. We further investigated whether and how past anxiety was related to brain volumes.
Among included participants, 249 (2.66%) had a current AD. Larger total white matter (Beta = -0.152; 95% CI [-0.281, -0.023]), thalamus (Beta = -0.168; 95% CI [-0.291, -0.044]), and smaller hippocampus volumes (Beta = 0.094; 95% CI [-0.008, 0.196]) were associated with lower BI scores. Amygdala volume was not related to BI. Larger total cortical (OR = 0.751; 95% CI [0.580;0.970]), amygdala (OR = 0.798; 95%CI [0.666;0.956]), and precentral gyrus (OR = 0.802; 95% CI [0.661;0.973]) volumes were associated with lower odds of currently having ADs. Children with past ADs had smaller total white matter and amygdala volumes.
The results show associations between brain volumes and both BI and ADs at an early age. Importantly, results suggest that ADs and BI have different neurobiological correlates and that earlier occurrences of ADs may influence brain structures related to BI and ADs, motivating research that can better delineate the similarities and divergence in the neurobiological underpinnings and building blocks of BI and ADs across their development in early life.
磁共振成像（MRI）研究已经确定了与焦虑症（AD）相关的大脑变化，但结果仍然存在差异，尤其是在年轻人群中。AD 的一个关键预测因素是行为抑制（BI），即儿童时期对新刺激高度回避的倾向。本研究旨在使用青少年大脑认知发育（ABCD）研究的基线数据，评估候选大脑区域、BI 与 AD 之间的关系。
我们使用线性混合模型，考虑到家庭聚类以及重要的人口统计学和社会经济协变量，分析了 9353 名 9-10 岁儿童的全脑和局部脑容量与 BI 和当前 AD 的关系。我们进一步研究了过去的焦虑症是否以及如何与脑容量相关。
在纳入的参与者中，有 249 人（2.66%）患有当前的 AD。较大的总白质体积（Beta=-0.152；95%置信区间[-0.281，-0.023]）、丘脑（Beta=-0.168；95%置信区间[-0.291，-0.044]）和较小的海马体体积（Beta=0.094；95%置信区间[-0.008，0.196]）与较低的 BI 评分相关。杏仁核体积与 BI 无关。较大的全皮质（OR=0.751；95%置信区间[0.580；0.970]）、杏仁核（OR=0.798；95%置信区间[0.666；0.956]）和中央前回（OR=0.802；95%置信区间[0.661；0.973]）体积与较低的当前 AD 发生率相关。有过去 AD 病史的儿童总白质和杏仁核体积较小。
研究结果表明，在早期年龄阶段，脑容量与 BI 和 AD 之间存在关联。重要的是，结果表明 AD 和 BI 具有不同的神经生物学相关性，并且 AD 的早期发作可能会影响与 BI 和 AD 相关的大脑结构，这促使我们开展研究，更好地描绘 BI 和 AD 在生命早期发展过程中的神经生物学基础和构建块的相似性和差异性。
