Whole-Brain Resting-State Functional Connectivity Patterns Associated With Pediatric Anxiety and Involuntary
Michael T Perino1, Michael J Myers1, Muriah D Wheelock1
1School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
|August 29, 2022
Summary
Pediatric anxiety is linked to altered brain network connectivity, particularly involving the cingulo-opercular network. These changes in functional connectivity are also associated with attention difficulties in children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Pediatric anxiety disorders are associated with disruptions in functional brain networks and spatial attention.
- Previous research suggests altered connectivity in networks like the frontoparietal, default mode, cingulo-opercular, and ventral attention networks in pediatric anxiety.
- This study investigates the relationship between anxiety symptoms, attention, and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) alterations relate to anxiety symptoms in children.
- To investigate the association between rs-fc alterations and stimulus-driven attention deficits in pediatric anxiety.
- To test the hypothesis that anxiety-related connectivity changes, especially within the ventral attention network, correlate with attention deviations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized network-level analyses on resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.
- Examined a sample of 61 children, including those meeting criteria for anxiety disorders.
- Assessed whole-brain rs-fc patterns in relation to clinician-rated anxiety and involuntary attention capture, controlling for comorbidities.
Main Results:
- Elevated anxiety in children correlated with altered connectivity within the cingulo-opercular network.
- Aberrant connectivity was also observed between the cingulo-opercular network and the ventral attention, default mode, and visual networks.
- Connectivity between the ventral attention and cingulo-opercular networks was significantly associated with variations in both anxiety levels and stimulus-driven attention.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric anxiety is characterized by aberrant connectivity patterns across multiple brain networks, prominently involving the cingulo-opercular network.
- These findings elucidate the complex within- and between-network interactions underlying pediatric anxiety and attention deficits.
- Specific network connections identified in this study may represent potential therapeutic targets for improving anxiety-related processing.
