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Alterations in white matter volume and its correlation with clinical characteristics in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

  • Diagnostic Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Introduction

Only a few morphological studies have focused on changes in white matter (WM) volume in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). We evaluated alterations in WM volume and its correlation with symptom severity and duration of illness in adults with GAD.

Methods

The 44 subjects were comprised of 22 patients with GAD (13 males and nine females) diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) and 22 age-matched healthy controls (13 males and nine females). High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were processed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis based on diffeomorphic anatomical registration using the exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL) algorithm in SPM8.

Results

Patients with GAD showed significantly reduced WM volume, particularly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), and midbrain. In addition, DLPFC volume was negatively correlated with GAD-7 score and illness duration. ALIC volume was negatively correlated with GAD-7 score. Female patients had significantly less orbitofrontal cortex volume compared to that in male patients.

Conclusion

The findings demonstrate localized changes in WM volume associated with cognitive and emotional dysfunction in patients with GAD. The finding will be helpful for understanding the neuropathology in patients with GAD.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the NRF of Korea (2013R1A1A2013878) and Chonnam National University Hospital Biomedical Research Institute (CRI 15011-1).

Ethical standards and patient consent

We declare that all human tests have been approved by the Ethics Committee and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. We declare that all patients gave informed consent prior to inclusion in this study.

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Medical Imaging, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

    Chung-Man Moon & Gwang-Woo Jeong

  2. Department of Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, 501-757, Republic of Korea

    Gwang-Woo Jeong

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  1. Chung-Man Moon
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Correspondence to Gwang-Woo Jeong.

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Moon, CM., Jeong, GW. Alterations in white matter volume and its correlation with clinical characteristics in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Neuroradiology 57, 1127–1134 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-015-1572-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-015-1572-y

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