Gray-Matter Morphometry of Internalizing-Symptom Dimensions During Adolescence

Abstract

Understanding the neuroanatomical correlates of internalizing psychopathology during adolescence may shed light on neurodevelopmental processes that make this a critical period for the trajectory of mental illness. However, few studies have simultaneously examined co-occurring and dissociable features of internalizing psychopathology during this formative developmental stage. In the current study, we identify the neuroanatomical correlates of four dimensions of internalizing psychopathology symptoms in adolescents: a common internalizing dimension capturing covariance in symptoms across internalizing disorders, as well as low-positive-affect-specific, anxious-arousal-specific, and anxious-apprehension-specific residuals. Our results suggest that these dimensions are associated with neuroanatomy across much of the brain, including prefrontal and limbic regions implicated in case-control studies and regions supporting visual processing. It is noteworthy that results differed between males and females in regions that are sexually dimorphic in adulthood, and the direction of the effects was largely opposite what has been observed in adults and children.