Brain functional connectome phenotype relates to psychopathology in middle-aged and older adults

Motivation: To better understand brain network vulnerability in mental health disorders in the understudied middle-aged and older adults and see if it fits the hierarchical model of psychopathology. Goal(s): We sought to unveil the structure of psychopathology through investigating the brain phenotypes underlying various mental outcomes using the UK Biobank cohort. Approach: We investigated how brain functional connectivity relates to 36 mental outcome items using a multivariate partial least squares correlation approach. Results: Across middle-aged and older adults, we identified a general disease factor and another reflecting the divergence between alcohol addiction and depression/PTSD related symptoms, consistent with the hierarchical model of psychopathology. Impact: These findings highlighted the importance of characterizing mental disorders in terms of transdiagnostic dimensions instead of separate disorders. It also shed light on how imaging biomarkers can be used to characterize population suffering from poor mental health.