Neural Network Connections Linked to Mental Illness, Independent of Diagnosis

The current nomenclature in psychiatry remains inadequate to explain features that transcend traditional diagnoses based on number of symptoms (categorical diagnoses). These researchers conducted a whole-brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study of connectivity between neural networks (the connectome) in 605 university students (mean age, 20); 133 had at least one DSM-IV diagnosis (substance use disorders, unipolar and bipolar mood disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders).

The researchers examined the association of connectivity to a composite score of propensity to any mental illness (general psychopathology or “p factor”). P factor scores were correlated positively with hyperc…