Brain volumes, behavioral inhibition, and anxiety disorders in children: results from the adolescent brain cognitive development study ...

Background Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have identified brain changes associated with anxiety disorders (ADs), but the results remain mixed, particularly at a younger age. One key predictor of ADs is behavioral inhibition (BI), a childhood tendency for high avoidance of novel stimuli. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between candidate brain regions, BI, and ADs among children using baseline data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Methods We analyzed global and regional brain volumes of 9,353 children (9–10 years old) in relation to BI and current ADs, using linear mixed models accounting for family clustering and important demographic and socioeconomic covariates. We further investigated whether and how past anxiety was related to brain volumes. Results Among included participants, 249 (2.66%) had a current AD. Larger total white matter (Beta = -0.152; 95% CI [-0.281, -0.023]), thalamus (Beta = -0.168; 95% CI [-0.291, -0.044]), and smaller ...