Predicting anxiety in children and adolescents

Early-life adversity, such as growing up in conflict zones and being exposed to war, creates challenges that can extend far beyond the immediate risk of violence. For children, exposure to war-related stress can reshape the brain circuits responsible for attachment, fear, and emotional regulation, leading to increased vulnerability for anxiety and stress-related disorders such as PTSD later in life. 

But how exactly does this happen? Can we identify brain-based markers that predict which children are most at risk for long-term psychological effects?

In collaboration with our partners at Reichman University's Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience and Haifa University’s Developmental Psychopathology Lab, we are utilizing advanced neuroscience methods to study the impact of war-related stress on the developing brain and its circuits for empathy, emotion regulation, and fear. We then try to link disruptions in these circuits to the emergence of anxiety, post-trauma, and other symptoms.

Under normal circumstances, our brain and body can adapt to threat by fine-tuning different neural, physiological, and behavioral responses to danger and safety. However, exposure to acute stress, like war, may lead to heightened vigilance, persistent fear responses, problems with inter-personal relationships, and difficulties distinguishing between real and perceived threats. These patterns are closely related to symptoms of anxiety and stress-related disorders, and may even predict their occurrence. But if we can identify early indicators of these patterns, we may be able to predict both resilience and risk for future mental health challenges.

To accomplish this goal, our research follows youth over several years, examining how early adversity affects the development of (1) neural pathways involved in attachment and threat responses, key systems that impact how we navigate the world around us, and (2) physiological and cognitive responses to emotional stimuli.

Ultimately, we aim to be able to identify children and youth at risk for long-term anxiety and stress-related disorders, in order to develop early intervention strategies to prevent their manifestation.