Understanding Brain Changes in Anxious Teens During Puberty
Puberty-related development of fronto-amygdala circuitry in anxious youth: A multimodal neuroimaging study with ultra-high resolution MRI scanner (7T)
This project looks at how brain connections change during puberty in young people with anxiety, hoping to understand why anxiety often starts or gets worse at this age.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11087567 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Anxiety often begins or worsens during the teenage years, especially around puberty, and can affect girls more than boys. This project uses advanced brain imaging, called 7T MRI, to get a very detailed look at how specific brain areas involved in emotion, like the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, develop during this time. We want to see how these brain changes might be different in anxious youth compared to those without anxiety. By understanding these differences, we hope to learn more about the biological reasons behind anxiety in young people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates for this type of research would be adolescents, both anxious and non-anxious, typically between 12 and 20 years old, who are experiencing or have experienced puberty.
Not a fit: Patients whose anxiety is not related to pubertal development or who are outside the adolescent age range may not directly benefit from this specific line of inquiry.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us better understand why anxiety develops in adolescence and lead to new ways to identify and support young people at risk.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has shown alterations in brain circuitry in anxious individuals and links between pubertal hormones and brain development, providing a foundation for this detailed investigation.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ladouceur, Cecile D. — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Ladouceur, Cecile D.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.