Understanding the development of neural abnormalities in adolescents with mental health problems: A longitudinal study

Background

Many mental health problems are neurodevelopmental in nature and have an onset during childhood. These disorders are associated with neural abnormalities, but it is unclear when these emerge and how this relates to the development of different mental health problems.

Methods

We identified children who developed mental health problems over two years and controls who remained healthy from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Six mental health conditions (N = 58 to N = 173) were compared to controls (N = 2500) using separate linear models to assess group differences at baseline and in neurodevelopment for six disorders and six modalities. Shared neurodevelopmental changes were assessed by comparing spatial patterns of brain alterations across conditions at baseline and over time.

Results

The baseline data showed brain-wide abnormalities in children who later developed mental health problems, which were comparable between internalizing problems and different from externalizing problems. Brain-region specific abnormalities were limited to individuals who later developed oppositional defiant symptoms. The longitudinal data showed differential neurodevelopmental trajectories for specific brain regions in adolescents who developed ADHD, conduct and anxiety problems, as well as brain-wide neurodevelopmental abnormalities that were comparable between mental health problem groups compared to controls.

Conclusions

Our findings reveal both shared and problem-specific neural abnormalities, providing critical insights into the evolving neurobiological mechanisms that underlie both shared and distinct mental health problems, highlighting how disorder-specific and transdiagnostic brain abnormalities emerge across development.