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Functional neural alterations in emotion regulation-related brain regions in adolescents with anxiety disorders : A systematic review

Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterized by a heightened vulnerability to anxiety disorders, potentially due to a functional mismatch between early-maturing emotional response systems and the still-evolving prefrontal emotion regulation related circuitry. The present review aimed to synthesize empirical evidence on functional neural alterations in brain regions involved in emotion regulation in adolescents with anxiety disorders. A systematic search of MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science identified 611 unique articles, of which 14 studies (each including adolescents with anxiety disorder diagnosis and healthy controls) met the inclusion criteria. Of those 14, four studies used resting state connectivity paradigms, nine used emotional face/picture processing tasks, and one used an explicit emotion regulation task. All studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with brain activity analyzed using whole brain analysis and/or seed-based regions of interest (ROI) analysis. Results showed increased amygdala activation alongside reduced activation in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). Additionally, while connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal regulatory regions showed inconsistent patterns across studies, there was evidence of increased amygdala-insula connectivity and decreased striatal-prefrontal connectivity. These findings demonstrate that adolescents with anxiety disorders display functional neural alterations in brain regions responsible for emotional reactivity and emotion regulation. This highlights the importance of advancing research on emotion regulation as a key target for medication and intervention efforts in youth.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7165319577
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