Shared and Distinct Brain Alterations in Youth with Internalising or Externalising Disorders

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Externalising and internalising disorders are common in youth but are often studied in isolation, preventing an investigation of the transdiagnostic vulnerability which may underlie them. Recent studies have attempted to identify unique versus shared neurobiological alterations across these disorders (e.g., Durham et al., 2021; Gold et al., 2016; Goodkind et al., 2015; Yu et al., 2023), but results have been inconsistent, likely due to heterogeneous sample selection and methods. Using data from the ENIGMA consortium, we conducted a mega-analysis to identify shared and distinct cortical and subcortical alterations between internalising (anxiety disorders and depression) and externalising (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and conduct disorder [CD]) disorders in youth.