title: Anxious/depressed symptoms are linked to right ventromedial prefrontal cortical thickness maturation in healthy children and young adults.
abstract: The relationship between anxious/depressed traits and neuromaturation remains largely unstudied. Characterizing this relationship during healthy neurodevelopment is critical to understanding processes associated with the emergence of child/adolescent onset mood/anxiety disorders. In this study, mixed-effects models were used to determine longitudinal cortical thickness correlates of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Young Adult Self Report Anxious/Depressed scores in healthy children. Analyses included 341 subjects from 4.9 to 22.3 year-old with repeated MRI at up to 3 time points, at 2-year intervals (586 MRI scans). There was a significant "CBCL Anxious/Depressed by Age" interaction on cortical thickness in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), including the medial orbito-frontal, gyrus rectus, and subgenual anterior cingulate areas. Anxious/Depressed scores were negatively associated with thickness at younger ages (<9 years), but positively associated with thickness at older ages (15-22 years), with the shift in polarity occurring around age 12. This was secondary to a slower rate of vmPFC cortical thinning in subjects with higher scores. In young adults (18-22 years), Anxious/Depressed scores were also positively associated with precuneus/posterior cingulate cortical thickness. Potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying this maturation pattern are proposed. These results demonstrate the dynamic impact of age on relations between vmPFC and negative affect in the developing brain.
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ducharme
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Albaugh
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401, USA.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hudziak
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA and.
authors.forename: Kelly N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Botteron
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Tuong-Vi
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Truong
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada, Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4H 1R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Sherif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology*; D057566:Self Report; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child Behavior Checklist; anxiety; brain development; depression; magnetic resonance imaging