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Brains of teens grappling with mental illness are structurally different than those of healthy peers, shows new research from University of Alberta neuroscientists.

The collaborative research led by Anthony Singhal, professor and chair in the department of psychology, involved adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 who had a history of mental-health problems, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

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The teens received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to examine the white matter of their brains. Those scans were then compared to scans from a second set of adolescents in the same age range who did not have a history of mental health issues, said a Friday news release from the university.

The results clearly showed differences in connective neural pathways between the two groups.

“We saw pathways that were less structurally efficient in the patients compared to the healthy controls,” said Singhal, also a member of UAlberta’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute (NHMI).