Hickson Robert, Hernandez Andres, Barbera Emily R, Pozo-Neira Johanna Lucía, Totah Natalie, Edwards Naomi L, Müller-Oehring Eva M, Schulte Tilman
Department of Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, United States.
Department of Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, United States.
J Affect Disord. 2025 Sep 3;392:120238. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.120238.
Functional network connectivity (FNC) among large-scale brain networks-including the default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience (SN) networks-have been increasingly implicated in transdiagnostic features of mental health disorders. In this study, we examined FNC patterns among the DMN, FPN, SN, and nine additional large-scale networks using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from 7760 adolescents (ages 10-13) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. We investigated whether altered connectivity among these networks was associated with symptoms of social anxiety, as reported by caregivers at the two-year follow-up visit. Bayesian multiple regression revealed small, positive associations between social anxiety symptoms and FNC between the SN and cingulo-opercular network (β = 0.038, 95 % HDI = [0.003, 0.073]), the SN and retrosplenial temporal network (β = 0.031, 95 % HDI = [0.001, 0.061]), and the DMN and dorsal attention network (β = 0.046, 95 % HDI = [0.008, 0.085]). Female sex was also associated with greater social anxiety (β = 0.073, 95 % HDI = [0.026, 0.119]). These results highlight specific patterns of FNC that may serve as early neurobiological markers of social anxiety during adolescent development, offering insight into the network-level mechanisms that underlie risk for social anxiety in youth. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: By analyzing resting-state fMRI data from 7760 adolescents, we identified small, positive effects of salience network-cingulo-opercular network and salience network-retrosplenial temporal network connectivity on social anxiety, and a small, positive effect of default mode network-dorsal attention network connectivity. These findings highlight the role of salience and default mode network dynamics in shaping adolescent social anxiety risk. With growing interest in transdiagnostic approaches to mental health, our results provide novel evidence that network-level variations can represent a core risk factor for social anxiety during early adolescence. This work suggests that functional network connectivity could yield clinically relevant biomarkers for early identification and targeted interventions for social anxiety in adolescence.
包括默认模式网络（DMN）、额顶叶网络（FPN）和突显网络（SN）在内的大规模脑网络之间的功能网络连接性（FNC），越来越多地与精神健康障碍的跨诊断特征相关。在本研究中，我们使用来自青少年大脑认知发展（ABCD）研究的7760名青少年（10 - 13岁）的静息态功能磁共振成像（rs - fMRI）数据，研究了DMN、FPN、SN以及另外九个大规模网络之间的FNC模式。我们调查了这些网络之间连接性的改变是否与两年随访时照料者报告的社交焦虑症状相关。贝叶斯多元回归显示，社交焦虑症状与SN和扣带 - 岛盖网络之间的FNC（β = 0.038，95%最高密度区间 = [0.003, 0.073]）、SN和压后颞叶网络之间的FNC（β = 0.031，95%最高密度区间 = [0.001, 0.061]）以及DMN和背侧注意网络之间的FNC（β = 0.046，95%最高密度区间 = [0.008, 0.085]）之间存在小的正相关。女性性别也与更高的社交焦虑相关（β = 0.073，95%最高密度区间 = [0.026, 0.119]）。这些结果突出了FNC的特定模式，这些模式可能作为青少年发育过程中社交焦虑的早期神经生物学标志物，为青少年社交焦虑风险背后的网络水平机制提供了见解。意义声明：通过分析7760名青少年的静息态fMRI数据，我们确定了突显网络 - 扣带 - 岛盖网络和突显网络 - 压后颞叶网络连接性对社交焦虑有小的正效应，以及默认模式网络 - 背侧注意网络连接性有小的正效应。这些发现突出了突显网络和默认模式网络动态在塑造青少年社交焦虑风险中的作用。随着对精神健康跨诊断方法的兴趣日益增加，我们的结果提供了新的证据，表明网络水平的变化可能是青春期早期社交焦虑的核心风险因素。这项工作表明，功能网络连接性可以产生临床上相关的生物标志物，用于青少年社交焦虑的早期识别和针对性干预。
