Takeaway
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) revealed that internalizing symptoms (depressive and anxious symptoms) in girls were associated with reduced fractional anisotropy in certain areas of the brain’s white matter (WM), showing a possible mechanism for the development of internalizing symptoms.
Why this matters
Internalizing problems in the form of depressive and anxious symptoms are signs of more serious mental disorders later in the life, but changes in brain structure associated with these clinical symptoms are still poorly understood.