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Adolescent anxiety

Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents Linked to Hippocampal Gray- and White-Matter Alterations

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Research has long established a link between early-life stress and depression among youths, with hippocampal gray- and white-matter alterations being a common consequence. However, less is known about how anxiety disorders in adolescents impact the brain, particularly in relation to comorbid depressive disorders. A recent study published in the journal Hippocampus has shed new light on this topic, highlighting significant structural and diffusion-MRI differences between adolescents with anxiety disorders and those without.

Key Takeaways:

  • Adolescents with anxiety disorders (Anx) exhibited undersized hippocampal gray-matter volumes for their ages, with volume reductions localized to subfield CA1.
  • No significant gray-matter differences were observed between adolescents with comorbid anxiety and depression (Anx + Dep) and controls.
  • Standardized probabilistic tractography in hippocampal white-matter pathways demonstrated lower fractional anisotropy in the cingulum-temporal branch among Anx and Anx + Dep compared to controls.
  • All effects were specific to hippocampal structures, with no group differences accounted for by early-life stress exposures.
  • The findings suggest that gray-matter expansion, principally within CA1, may be disrupted among adolescents with anxiety disorders, but not those with comorbid depression.
  • The progressive strengthening of hippocampal-cortical circuits occurring during adolescence may also be disrupted in adolescents with anxiety disorders, regardless of depression.

Statistics:

  • 197 adolescents (13.58-17.00 years) participated in the study.
  • 44% of the participants had anxiety disorders (Anx).
  • 27% of the participants had comorbid anxiety and depression (Anx + Dep).
  • 29% of the participants served as controls.
  • Gray-matter volumes in CA1 subfield were 8.7% significantly smaller in Anx compared to controls.
  • Lower fractional anisotropy in the cingulum-temporal branch was observed in 67.3% of Anx and 58.3% of Anx + Dep compared to controls.

Sources:

  • Hippocampus, 2025;35(5).
  • Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.
  • University of Nebraska, Ctr Brain Biol & Behav, Lincoln, NE 68588, United States.
  • Name: Nicholas A. Hubbard, Contact details: University of Nebraska, Ctr Brain Biol & Behav, Lincoln, NE 68588, United States.
  • NewsRx, November 1, 2025.

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