Structure-function coupling in network connectivity and associations with negative affectivity in a group of transdiagnostic adolescents

Authors

Dana Kanel
André Zugman
Grace Stohr
Beck Scheinberg
Elise M. Cardinale
Anderson M. Winkler, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow
Katharina Kircanski
Nathan A. Fox
Melissa A. Brotman
Julia O. Linke
Daniel Samuel Pine

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2025

Abstract

The study of brain connectivity, both functional and structural, can inform us on the development of psychopathology. The use of multimodal MRI methods allows us to study associations between structural and functional connectivity, and how this relates to psychopathology. This may be especially useful during childhood and adolescence, a period where most forms of psychopathology manifest for the first time. The current paper explores structure-function coupling, measured through diffusion and resting-state functional MRI, and quantified as the correlation between structural and functional connectivity matrices. We investigate associations between psychopathology and coupling in a transdiagnostic group of adolescents, including many treatment-seeking youth with relatively high levels of symptoms (n = 72, Mage = 13.3). We used a bifactor model to extract our main outcome measure, Negative Affectivity, from anxiety and irritability ratings. This provided the principal measure of psychopathology. Supplementary analyses investigated ‘domain-specific’ factors of anxiety and irritability. Findings indicate a positive association between negative affectivity and structure-function coupling between the default mode and the fronto-parietal control networks. Higher structure-function coupling may indicate heightened structural constraints on function, which limit functional network reorganization during adolescence required for healthy psychological outcomes.

Comments

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Kanel, D., Zugman, A., Stohr, G., Scheinberg, B., Cardinale, E., Winkler, A., ... & Pine, D. S. (2025). Structure-function coupling in network connectivity and associations with negative affectivity in a group of transdiagnostic adolescents. Journal of Mood & Anxiety Disorders, 100094.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Journal of Mood & Anxiety Disorders

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjmad.2024.100094

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Office of Human Genetics