Explain the structural brain changes that occur in people with GAD.

In people with GAD, brain structural changes occurs a result of alterations of the gray and white matter. The structural changes in gray matter include macrostructural changes such as decreased cortical thickness and volume, as well as through microstructural changes such as increased gray matter mean diffusivity. On the other hand, structural changes in white matter include changes in macrostructural lesions measured by the total white matter hyper-intensity (WMH) burden and through microstructural damage in the white matter tracts.