PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

For anxious children and teens, context counts, UCLA researchers say

Specific area of the brain linked to anxiety disorders in youth

2013-11-19
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Mark Wheeler
mwheeler@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-2265
University of California - Los Angeles
For anxious children and teens, context counts, UCLA researchers say Specific area of the brain linked to anxiety disorders in youth Anxiety disorders are common in children and adolescents, affecting up to 25 percent of the youth population. Anxiety causes distress and functional impairment and, if left untreated, can result in bad grades, problems at home and increased rates of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.

These risks constitute a significant public health burden, and they underscore the importance of continued efforts to understand the cause and course of the disorder.

While earlier research found that anxious youths are apt to interpret neutral or ambiguous information as threatening, fueling the feelings of distress that characterize anxiety disorders, what happens in the brain and how the brain may be impacted has been unclear. In particular, where in the brain neutral information is transformed into "threatening" information in anxious youth has remained unknown.

Now researchers at UCLA have shown that teenagers with anxiety disorders show increased activity in a specific part of the brain, the medial prefrontal cortex, when they are interpreting a situation negatively. The results appear in the current online edition of the journal Biology of Mood and Anxiety Disorders.

For the study, 16 teenagers with anxiety disorders and 15 non-anxious teens underwent functional MRI while being shown pictures of people with a neutral look on their face. The faces were paired with either of two sentences: one that was viewed as neutral ("She is watching a presentation") and one that might be viewed as more intimidating ("She is about to give a presentation").

Teenagers without anxiety disorders were unaffected by the context when they interpreted the faces. But those with anxiety disorders often found neutral faces more threatening when they were presented in an "anxiety-provoking" situation — one in which they might feel judged by peers. This was not a great surprise. But when researchers measured brain activity in these situations, they found increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex.

"We know that the medial prefrontal cortex plays a role in social and emotional processes, and it is an area of the brain that is still developing through childhood and adolescence, so it was a natural candidate for examination," said co-author Tara Peris, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. "The role this area of the brain plays is of particular interest, then, given prior research that implicates it in inferring what another person is feeling."

This is among the first studies, Peris said, aimed at understanding how anxious youths make sense of neutral stimuli and the conditions under which their brains might elicit heightened patterns of activation. Further research is needed to examine more definitively the role of this part of the brain in adolescent anxiety and the extent to which it may serve as a biomarker for illness.

Adriana Galván, a UCLA assistant professor of psychology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science, was co-author of the study.

### Funding for the study was provided by a Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award and by the National Institutes of Mental Health (K23 MH085058), the National Science Foundation (BCS 0963750) and UCLA institutional funds.

The Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior is an interdisciplinary research and education institute devoted to the understanding of complex human behavior, including the genetic, biological, behavioral and sociocultural underpinnings of normal behavior, and the causes and consequences of neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition to conducting fundamental research, the institute faculty seeks to develop effective strategies for prevention and treatment of neurological, psychiatric and behavioral disorder, including improvement in access to mental health services and the shaping of national health policy.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Breakthrough in adult heart repair

2013-11-19
Breakthrough in adult heart repair Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Heart Institute have discovered a new way to dramatically improve heart repair. The future goal is to use this knowledge to combat human cardiovascular ...

New findings could help target the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and syphilis

2013-11-19
New findings could help target the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and syphilis VIDEO: The bacterial pathogens that cause Lyme disease and syphilis are highly invasive. These ...

New program offers blueprint and 'Golden Rules' for increasing sustainable electricity in developing countries

2013-11-19
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 19-Nov-2013 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Terry Collins tc@tca.tc 416-538-8712 Adriana Paez paez.adriana@hydro.qc.ca 514-392-5642 Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership New program offers blueprint and 'Golden Rules' for increasing sustainable electricity in developing countries Global outreach effort by electricity giants fosters bottom-up approach to strong ...

Children's cardiovascular fitness declining worldwide

2013-11-19
Children's cardiovascular fitness declining worldwide Abstract: 13498 (Room D163) Many kids don't run as far or fast as their parents did, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013. The decline in running ...

Many sudden cardiac arrests preceded by warning signs

2013-11-19
Many sudden cardiac arrests preceded by warning signs Abstract: 18987: Hall F, Core 4, Poster Board: 4051 Sudden cardiac arrest isn't always so sudden, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013. In a study ...

Fruit bat population covering central Africa is carrier of 2 deadly viruses

2013-11-19
Fruit bat population covering central Africa is carrier of 2 deadly viruses A population of fruit bats which is found across much of continental Africa is widely infected with two deadly viruses that could spread to humans, new research reveals. The study, ...

Researchers identify a new genetic risk factor for severe psychiatric illness

2013-11-19
Researchers identify a new genetic risk factor for severe psychiatric illness MANHASSET, NY – Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered a new genetic risk factor for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder called NDST3. ...

Genome scale view of great white shark uncovers unexpected and distinctive features

2013-11-19
Genome scale view of great white shark uncovers unexpected and distinctive features First large-scale analysis of white shark gene products finds fewer differences compared to humans than bony fishes FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. - The great white shark, a ...

Hashtag health

2013-11-19
Hashtag health SDSU geography professor Ming-Hsiang Tsou's method of using Twitter to track the spread of influenza is producing results A social media–monitoring program led by San Diego State University geography professor Ming-Hsiang Tsou could help physicians ...

A fresh step towards quantum computing

2013-11-19
A fresh step towards quantum computing Advances in technology for computation and information storage always require to make the systems smaller and faster. The limits of miniaturization are those set by nature: Materials are composed by specific units, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Loneliness predicts poor mental and physical health outcomes

Keeping the photon in the dark

FDA-approved drugs could make nano-medicine safer, study finds

Many seafloor fish communities are retaining their individuality despite human impacts

Somali women’s perspectives on female genital mutilation and its abandonment

Structure of tick-borne virus revealed at atomic resolution for the first time

The robot will see you now

Stepping up the potential of wearables: predicting pediatric surgery complications

Prenatal and childhood lead exposure linked to faster memory decay in children

Medical needles in the hands of AI

Source criticism in school requires more than isolated interventions

Mount Sinai’s Andy Jagoda, MD, receives top honor from New York chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians

Clinical trials reveal promising alternatives to highly toxic tuberculosis drug

Vanderbilt Health at forefront of improving head and neck surgery with fluorescence imaging to ‘light up’ nerves

Koalas spend only 1% of their life on the ground – but it’s killing them

Moon-Rice: Developing the perfect crop for space-bases

Forum with alcohol industry ties shows significant bias in reviews of health research

Underestimated sources of marine pollution

IPK research team unlocks potential of barley’s closest wild relative, Hordeum bulbosum

Study reveals the hidden benefits of weight loss on fat tissue

Gut microbes key to understanding how exercise boosts cancer immunity

Morning vs bedtime dosing and nocturnal blood pressure reduction in patients with hypertension

BMI in children before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Branching out: Tomato genes point to new medicines

Charité study analyzes 400 million years of enzyme evolution

Large-scale DNA study maps 37,000 years of disease history

Results from largest review of its kind on antidepressant withdrawal symptoms

Twist to the M-ax(is): New twist platform opens path to quantum simulation of more exotic states of matter

Chang'e-6 samples unlock secrets of the Moon’s farside

Teaching lasers to self-correct in high-precision patterned laser micro-grooving

[Press-News.org] For anxious children and teens, context counts, UCLA researchers say
Specific area of the brain linked to anxiety disorders in youth