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Mean diffusivity in the amygdala correlates with anxiety in pediatric TBI

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Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and orthopedic injury (OI) patients are prone to anxiety and mood disorders. In the present study, we integrated anatomical and diffusion tensor neuroimaging to investigate structural properties of the amygdala and hippocampus, gray matter regions implicated in anxiety and mood disorders. Children and adolescents were evaluated during the late sub-acute phase of recovery following trauma resulting from either moderate to severe TBI or OI. Mean diffusivity (MD) of the amygdala and hippocampus was elevated following TBI. An interaction of hemisphere, structure, and group revealed that MD of the right amygdala was elevated in females with TBI. Self-reported anxiety scores were not related to either volume or microstructure of the hippocampus, or to volume or fractional anisotropy of the amygdala. Left amygdala MD in the TBI group accounted for 17.5% of variance in anxiety scores. Anxiety symptoms may be mediated by different mechanisms in patients with TBI or OI.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by NIH-NINDS-R01-NS046308 awarded to LEC. Additional intramural funding from the Department of Pediatrics awarded to JJ.

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No competing financial interests exist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Learning Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, ste 2411, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Jenifer Juranek, Mary R. Prasad, Pauline A. Filipek, Paul R. Swank & Linda Ewing-Cobbs

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, ste 2411, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Larry A. Kramer

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, ste 2411, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Ann Saunders & Linda Ewing-Cobbs

  4. Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, ste 2411, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Charles S. Cox Jr

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Chad P. Johnson

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  1. Jenifer Juranek
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  2. Chad P. Johnson
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  3. Mary R. Prasad
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  4. Larry A. Kramer
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  6. Pauline A. Filipek
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  7. Paul R. Swank
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  9. Linda Ewing-Cobbs
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Correspondence to Jenifer Juranek.

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Juranek, J., Johnson, C.P., Prasad, M.R. et al. Mean diffusivity in the amygdala correlates with anxiety in pediatric TBI. Brain Imaging and Behavior 6, 36–48 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-011-9140-5

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