Resting state connectivity patterns associated with trait anxiety in adolescence
Teresa Baggio1, Alessandro Grecucci2,3, Fabrice Crivello4
1Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, CL.I.A.N. Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Trento, Italy. teresa.baggio@unitn.it.
Scientific Reports
|March 21, 2025
Summary
Adolescents with higher trait anxiety show reduced brain connectivity in key networks, impacting self-referential thought and emotion regulation. This finding may help identify biomarkers for anxiety in youth.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Anxiety symptoms are prevalent in adolescence and early adulthood, increasing the risk for future anxiety disorders.
- Neuroscientific research on anxiety has predominantly focused on adults using univariate methods, often overlooking large-scale brain alterations.
- Adolescents with trait anxiety may exhibit brain abnormalities similar to adults, particularly in default mode network regions linked to self-referential thinking and rumination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate resting-state functional connectivity patterns associated with trait anxiety in a large adolescent sample.
- To identify specific brain networks and regions implicated in trait anxiety during adolescence.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 1263 adolescents (mean age 20.55 years).
- Correlation of rs-fMRI connectivity patterns with individual scores on trait anxiety measures.
Main Results:
- A significant association was found between trait anxiety and resting-state functional connectivity in two distinct networks.
- Key regions, including the cingulate gyrus, middle temporal gyri, and precuneus (overlapping with the default mode network), showed altered connectivity.
- Higher trait anxiety correlated with lower functional connectivity within these networks.
Conclusions:
- Reduced connectivity in specific brain networks is associated with higher trait anxiety in adolescents.
- These findings suggest potential impairments in self-referential processing, awareness, and emotion regulation in high-anxiety adolescents.
- The study may inform the development of potential neuroimaging biomarkers for anxiety in adolescent populations.
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