title: Age-related volumetric change of limbic structures and subclinical anxious/depressed symptomatology in typically developing children and adolescents.
abstract: To investigate the extent to which subclinical variation in anxious/depressed psychopathology is associated with volume and age-related volumetric change of limbic structures in a longitudinal sample of healthy youths.
  
  
  
  Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze longitudinal behavioral and neuroimaging data (up to 3 data points per subject, collected at 2 year-intervals) in 371 typically developing youths, from 4 to 18 years of age (196 females; 723 MRIs). Volumetric measures were obtained using a validated segmentation method. The best-fit model (cubic, quadratic, or first-order linear) was determined for the effect of age on amygdalar and hippocampal volume (adjusted for total brain volume). Next, amygdalar and hippocampal volumes were regressed against Child Behavior Checklist Anxious/Depressed (A/D) scores. Age-by-A/D and sex-by-A/D interactions were tested.
  
  
  
  Analyses revealed age-related linear and quadratic volumetric change in the amygdalae and hippocampi, respectively. A/D was positively associated with total amygdalar volume (p=0.045), independent of age and sex. Age-by-A/D and sex-by-A/D interactions were not associated with amygdalar or hippocampal volume.
  
  
  
  Results suggest that amygdalar structure is tied to A/D among typically developing youths, independent of age and sex. Developmental trajectories of amygdalar and hippocampal volume were not associated with subclinical anxiety. Taken together, increased amygdalar volume may serve as a significant marker of anxiety, regardless of developmental phase.
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA. Electronic address: malbaugh@uvm.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Albaugh
authors.affiliation: McGill University Health Centre, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McGill University Health Centre, Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Tuong-Vi
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: McGill University Health Centre, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ducharme
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: D Louis
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Botteron
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: D'Alberto
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Sherif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karama
authors.affiliation: Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hudziak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D000679:Amygdala; D001007:Anxiety / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D008032:Limbic System / Q000254:growth & development*; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size
keywords: Amygdala; Anxiety; Development; Hippocampus