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Amygdala volume predicted childhood anxiety

The development of anxiety problems can be influenced by alterations in the development of the amygdala during childhood, according to recent study findings published in Biological Psychiatry.

“It is a bit surprising that alterations to the structure and connectivity of the amygdala were so significant in children with higher levels of anxiety, given both the young age of the children and the fact that their anxiety levels were too low to be observed clinically,” Shaozheng Qin, PhD, of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, said in a press release.

Qin and colleagues evaluated 76 children aged 7 to 9 years using structural and functional MRI to determine the effects of anxiety on the brain.

Increased volume in the left amygdala was associated with high anxiety. Gray matter volume in the left (P<.001) and right (P=.03) amygdala was positively associated with anxiety. Large left and right amygdala volume was specifically found in high anxious children (P<.001). Childhood anxiety was predicted by left amygdala volume (P=.005) but not by right amygdala volume (P=.17).

Similarly, childhood anxiety was also predicted by volume of the left (P=.001) and right (P=.014) basolateral amygdala (BLA).

“In conclusion, our study shows that amygdala enlargement and functional hyperconnectivity are predictive of high levels of anxiety in children as young as 7 to 9 years of age,” the researchers wrote. “The most prominent enlargement and functional hyperconnectivity were observed in the left BLA, an amygdala nucleus whose large-scale functional circuits are important for emotion perception and regulation. Understanding the influence of childhood anxiety on amygdala circuits, as identified here, will not only help promote the development of biomarkers to identify at-risk children for early intervention, but also enhance our understanding of the neurodevelopmental origins of anxiety-related psychopathology.”

Disclosure: See the full study for a complete list of relevant financial disclosures.