What is it about?
This study shows that how easily young brains move between calm and threat states is linked to anxiety and treatment success. Youth who switch effortlessly between calm and threat states show lower anxiety and respond better to psychotherapy. In the future, this “neural efficiency” measure may help identify which anxious children benefit most from psychotherapy.
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Why is it important?
Most brain-imaging studies look at either resting or task activity, but rarely both. This study combines them to create a new measure called neural efficiency. Unlike many brain measures, it is reliable (i.e., giving the same result when repeated), making it promising for future clinical use. Importantly, higher neural efficiency predicts who benefits most from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Because about half of anxious youths do not respond to current treatments, identifying a dependable brain marker that can guide and personalize therapy is a significant step toward improving care.
Perspectives
As my work bridges clinical psychology and neuroscience, I’m always looking for ways to link brain imaging with real clinical care. It was exciting to collaborate with such a talented team and see that a whole-brain measure could help predict who benefits most from therapy. I hope these findings inspire others to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” approach and explore how brain-based insights can make treatment more effective.
Julia Linke
Johannes-Gutenberg-University Mainz
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reduced Threat-Related Neural Efficiency: A Possible Biomarker for Pediatric Anxiety Disorders, American Journal of Psychiatry, October 2025, American Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20241043.
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