Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41509412›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

Differential Cerebral White Matter Tract Alterations in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Revealed by Ultra-High Field 7T Diffusion-Weighted Imaging.

Chang-Le Chen, Minjie Wu, Yueyang Chi, Max Rose, Jessica C Weber, Shannon T Lamb, Hecheng Jin, Tamer S Ibrahim, Cecile D Ladouceur, Yue-Fang Chang and 3 more

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Chang-Le ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Minjie WuDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Yueyang ChiDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Max RoseDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Jessica C WeberDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Shannon T LambDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Hecheng JinDepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Tamer S IbrahimDepartment of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Cecile D LadouceurDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Yue-Fang ChangDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Kuei Y TsengDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Howard J AizensteinDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Shaolin YangDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Funding

Functional and Neurochemical Substrates of Amygdala-Frontal Circuitry across Development and Anxiety (COVID-19 Supplement)R21MH116475 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI YANG, SHAOLIN · 2020 to 2022
$460k
NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH116475
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by chronic worry and emotional dysregulation, yet its underlying white matter (WM) architecture remains inconsistent in previous neuroimaging studies. This study aimed to delineate microstructural WM alterations in GAD using ultra-high field (7T) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and advanced correlational tractography, evaluating their associations with symptom severity and diagnostic-aided value. Methods: Eighty-eight participants (27 GAD, 61 healthy controls, HCs) underwent 7T DTI scanning with 1.5-mm isotropic resolution. Whole-brain correlational tractography was applied to identify tracts exhibiting significant group-related differences in diffusion indices while controlling for demographic covariates. Associations with Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) scores were examined, and machine learning-based models were used to assess the diagnostic-aided utility of identified WM features. Results: Two tract bundles showed significant fractional anisotropy (FA) alterations in GAD: decreased FA in the right prefrontal pathway ( Conclusions: Ultra-high field 7T tractometry revealed a differential pattern of WM abnormalities in GAD, suggesting weakened prefrontal control and hyper-integrated cingulate connectivity as structural correlates of emotional dysregulation. These findings indicate the potential of 7T DTI markers for advancing mechanistic and diagnostic understanding of GAD.

Indexed as

7Tdiffusion tensor imagingGeneralized anxiety disordertractographywhite matter

Identifiers

PMID41509412
PMCPMC12776095

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