
Stronger amygdala-ventral prefrontal white matter connectivity has been associated with lower trait anxiety, possibly reflecting an increased capacity for efficient communication between the two regions. However, there are also reports arguing against this brain–anxiety association. To address these inconsistencies in the literature, we tested the possibility that idiosyncratic tract morphology may account for meaningful individual differences in trait anxiety, even among those with comparable microstructural integrity. Here, we adopted intersubject representational similarity analysis, an analytic framework that captures multivariate patterns of similarity, to analyze the morphological similarity of amygdala-ventral prefrontal pathways. Data drawn from the Leipzig Study for Mind–Body-Emotion Interactions dataset showed that younger adults (20 to 35 y of age) with low trait anxiety, in contrast to trait-anxious individuals, had consistently similar morphological configurations in their left amygdala-ventral prefrontal pathways. Additional tests on an independent sample of older adults (60 to 75 y of age) validated this finding. Our study reveals a generalizable pattern of brain–anxiety association that is embedded within the shared geometries between fiber tract morphology and trait anxiety data.
Brain Mapping, Emotions, Neural Pathways, Social Sciences, Humans, Prefrontal Cortex, Anxiety, Amygdala, Anxiety Disorders, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Aged
Brain Mapping, Emotions, Neural Pathways, Social Sciences, Humans, Prefrontal Cortex, Anxiety, Amygdala, Anxiety Disorders, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Aged
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 7 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
