Prior imaging studies have shown structural, functional and biochemical impairments in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), particularly in the right hemisphere. In this study we investigated, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the white-matter microstructure organization in GAD.

A total of 12 patients with DSM-IV GAD and 15 matched healthy controls underwent a magnetic resonance imaging session of diffusion weighted imaging, exploring white-matter water molecules by the means of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs). Regions of interests were placed in the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes and in the splenium and genu of the corpus callosum, bilaterally.

ADC measures were significantly greater in patients with GAD in the right splenium and right parietal cortex compared with healthy controls (p⩽0.002). No significant correlations between ADCs and age or clinical variables were found.

We provide evidence that GAD is associated with disrupted white-matter coherence of posterior right hemisphere regions, which may partly sustain the impaired cognitive regulation of anxiety. Future diffusion imaging investigations are expected to better elucidate the communication between the parietal cortex and other right hemisphere regions in sustaining the cognitive processing of social and emotional stimuli in patients with GAD.

While the media may significantly influence public attitudes and government policies affecting the research agenda, how mental health research is reported in the media has been virtually unstudied. The aim of this study was to examine stories concerning mental health research published on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) website between 1999 and 2008 and in New Scientist between 2008 and 2010.

Stories were retrieved from on-line archives. Story content was coded and assessed against: ‘disease burden’ of mental disorders; the general corpus of research papers in mental health and the countries from which they originated; the journals in which cited papers were published; and funding sources.

A total of 1015 BBC stories reporting mental health research and 133 New Scientist stories were found. The distribution of stories did not reflect ‘disease burden’; research on dementia was over-represented, while depression and alcohol were under-represented. There was an emphasis on biological research while stories on psychological interventions were rare. UK research was over-represented. Research funded by government and private non-profit sources was over-represented. Commentators from Alzheimer's Disease charities were prominent.

Consideration of reported stories may suggest approaches to working with the media to improve the public understanding of, and support for, mental health research. The role of commentators may be especially important.