Carlson Kenneth W, Smolker Harry R, Smith Louisa L, Snyder Hannah R, Hankin Benjamin L, Banich Marie T
Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, D447C Muenzinger Hall, UCB 345, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2025 Jan 27. doi: 10.3758/s13415-024-01262-0.
Increased intolerance of uncertainty (IU), or distress felt when encountering situations with unknown outcomes, occurs transdiagnostically across various forms of psychopathology and is targeted in therapeutic intervention. Increased intolerance of uncertainty shows overlap with symptoms of internalizing disorders, such as depression and anxiety, including negative affect and anxious apprehension (worry). While neuroanatomical correlates of IU have been reported, previous investigations have not disentangled the specific neural substrates of IU above and beyond any overlapping relationships with aspects of internalizing psychopathology. The current study did so in a sample of 42 adults and 79 adolescents, who completed questionnaires assessing IU and internalizing symptoms, and underwent structural MRI. When controlling for internalizing symptoms, across adults and adolescents, specific associations of IU were found with the structure of the inferior frontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex, regions implicated in cognitive control and emotional valuation/regulation. In addition, in adolescents, associations were observed with rostral middle frontal cortex and portions of the cingulate cortex. No associations were observed with threat-related regions, such as the amygdala. Potential cognitive/emotional mechanisms that might explain the association between individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty and morphology of the inferior frontal cortex are discussed.
不确定性不耐受（IU）增加，即遇到结果未知的情况时所感受到的痛苦，在各种形式的精神病理学中具有跨诊断性，并且是治疗干预的目标。不确定性不耐受增加与内化障碍的症状有重叠，如抑郁和焦虑，包括消极情绪和焦虑性担忧（担心）。虽然已有关于不确定性不耐受的神经解剖学相关性的报道，但先前的研究并未厘清不确定性不耐受超出与内化精神病理学方面任何重叠关系的特定神经基质。本研究在42名成年人和79名青少年样本中进行了此项工作，这些参与者完成了评估不确定性不耐受和内化症状的问卷，并接受了结构磁共振成像检查。在控制内化症状后，在成年人和青少年中均发现，不确定性不耐受与涉及认知控制和情绪评估/调节的额下回和眶额皮质结构存在特定关联。此外，在青少年中，还观察到与额中回前部和扣带回部分区域存在关联。未观察到与杏仁核等威胁相关区域存在关联。文中讨论了可能解释不确定性不耐受个体差异与额下回形态之间关联的潜在认知/情绪机制。
