Background: Although the study of the neuroanatomical correlates of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is gaining increasing interest, up to now the cortical anatomy of GAD patients has been poorly investigated and still no data on cortical gyrification are available. The aim of the present study is to quantitatively examine the cortical morphology in patients with GAD compared with healthy controls (HC) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the gyrification patterns in GAD.Methods: A total of 31 GAD patients and 31 HC underwent 3 T structural MRI. For each subject, cortical surface area (CSA), cortical thickness (CT), gray matter volume (GMV), and local gyrification index (LGI) were estimated in 19 regions of interest using the Freesurfer software. These parameters were then compared between the two groups using General Linear Model designs.Results: Compared with HC, GAD patients showed: (1) reduced CT in right caudal middle frontal gyrus (p < 0.05, Bonferroni corrected), (2) hyper-gyrification in right fusiform, inferior temporal, superior parietal and supramarginal gyri and in left supramarginal and superior frontal gyri (p < 0.05, Bonferroni corrected). No significant alterations in CSA and GMV were observed.Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis of a neuroanatomical basis for GAD, highlighting a possible key role of the right hemisphere. The alterations of CT and gyrification in GAD suggest a neurodevelopmental origin of the disorder. Further studies on GAD are needed to understand the evolution of the cerebral morphology with age and during the clinical course of the illness.

Researchers’ interest have recently moved toward the identification of recurrent psychopathological profiles characterized by concurrent elevations on different behavioural and emotional traits. This new strategy turned to be useful in terms of diagnosis and outcome prediction. We used a person-centred statistical approach to examine whether different groups could be identified in a referred sample and in a general-population sample of children and adolescents, and we investigated their relation to DSM-IV diagnoses. A latent class analysis (LCA) was performed on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) syndrome scales of the referred sample (N = 1225), of the general-population sample (N = 3418), and of the total sample. Models estimating 1-class through 5-class solutions were compared and agreement in the classification of subjects was evaluated. Chi square analyses, a logistic regression, and a multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the relations between classes and diagnoses. In the two samples and in the total sample, the best-fitting models were 4-class solutions. The identified classes were Internalizing Problems (15.68%), Severe Dysregulated (7.82%), Attention/Hyperactivity (10.19%), and Low Problems (66.32%). Subsequent analyses indicated a significant relationship between diagnoses and classes as well as a main association between the severe dysregulated class and comorbidity. Our data suggested the presence of four different psychopathological profiles related to different outcomes in terms of psychopathological diagnoses. In particular, our results underline the presence of a profile characterized by severe emotional and behavioural dysregulation that is mostly associated with the presence of multiple diagnosis.

Purpose: In February 2020, Italy became the first European country to face the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The concerns of infection, financial worries, loss of freedom, and isolation during the ongoing pandemic can lead to negative psychological effects, including anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The main aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between pandemic-related stress and pregnancy-specific stress and assess their role in the development of psychiatric symptoms. We predicted that pregnancy-specific stress would mediate an association of pandemic-related stress with psychiatric symptoms. Patients and Methods: A total of 258 pregnant women were assessed for general emotional symptoms with the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder screening (OCD). The Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (NuPDQ) and the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) were administered as measures of pregnancy-specific stress (PSS and pandemic-related, respectively). Mediation effects by NuPDQ for PREPS stress scales on psychiatric outcomes were calculated, using regression series and correcting for general covariates. Results: Almost a third of the sample reported clinically relevant anxiety levels (32.6%), 11.2% were positive for OCD screening and less than 5% were positive for depression screening. The stress related to feeling unprepared for delivery and postpartum (PREPS-PS) predicted PHQ-2 score, both directly and indirectly via PSS, and it predicted GAD-7 score only indirectly. The stress related to fear of infection (PREPS-PIS) was directly associated to GAD-7 score and – through PSS – to PHQ-2 score and OCD. Conclusion: The pandemic onset contributed to poor mental health, especially anxiety, in a substantial portion of Italian pregnant women. Our results emphasize the importance of strategies to reduce pregnancy-specific stress, as well as to diminish stress due to the pandemic. Identifying risk factors for psychological suffering is important to prevent potential long-term consequences for mothers and their offspring.