title: White matter abnormalities in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested an abnormal neural circuitry of emotion regulation including the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in both adult and adolescent generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients. Aberrant integrity of white matter in this neural circuitry has been verified in adult GAD patients. White matter abnormalities in adolescent GAD patients have not been detected.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five adolescents with GAD and 24 healthy controls underwent a diffusion tensor imaging scan. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was compared between groups with a voxel-wise Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) analysis method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with healthy controls, adolescents with GAD showed significantly reduced FA in bilateral uncinate fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and corona radiata.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings in the present study suggest a neural basis of emotion dysregulation in adolescent GAD patients.
authors: Mei
authors: M
authors: Liao
authors: Fan
authors: F
authors: Yang
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Zhong
authors: Z
authors: He
authors: Department of Psychiatry, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China. suly_csu@126.com.
authors: Linyan
authors: L
authors: Su
authors: Lingjiang
authors: L
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016880:Anisotropy; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059906:Neuroimaging