White matter integrity in adolescent irritability: A preliminary study

Irritability is a prevalent, impairing transdiagnostic symptom, especially during adolescence, yet little is known about irritability's neural mechanisms. A few studies examined the integrity of white matter tracts that facilitate neural communication in irritability, but only with extreme, disorder-related symptom presentations. In this preliminary study, we used a group connectometry approach to identify white matter tracts correlated with transdiagnostic irritability in a community/clinic-based sample of 35 adolescents (mean age = 14 years, SD = 2.0). We found positive and negative associations with irritability in local white matter tract bundles including sections of the longitudinal fasciculus; frontoparietal, parolfactory, and parahippocampal cingulum; corticostriatal and thalamocortical radiations; and vertical occipital fasciculus. Our findings support functional neuroimaging studies that implicate widespread neural pathways, particularly emotion and reward networks, in irritability. Our findings of positive and negative associations reveal a complex picture of what is good white matter connectivity. By characterizing irritability's neural underpinnings, targeted interventions may be developed.

Automated summary

Irritability is a prevalent and impairing transdiagnostic symptom, especially during adolescence. This study used a group connectometry approach to identify white matter tracts correlated with irritability, revealing widespread neural pathways, particularly emotion and reward networks. By characterizing the neural underpinnings of irritability, targeted interventions may be developed.