Scanning of Neurotransmitters in Children

Summary

Anxiety is the most common childhood disorder, and it can have significant long-term outcomes when not successfully treated. One treatment limitation is poor understanding of what causes anxiety. This study uses a MRI scanner to measure a neurotransmitter system known as the noradrenergic system. The noradrenergic system works in the brain to help with attention, learning, sleep and anxiety. This study will compare this system children with a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder to those without a diagnosis of any anxiety disorder (healthy controls).

We will measure this system using MRI three times, spaced out across a year, to understand how this system is changing with time. As well as MRI, we will get measures of stress, cognition and behavior. We will look at how these relate to the noradrenergic system.