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OBJECTIVE: Some studies have suggested alterations of structural brain asymmetry in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but findings have been contradictory and based on small samples. Here, we performed the largest ever analysis of brain left-right asymmetry in ADHD, using 39 datasets of the ENIGMA consortium. METHODS: We analyzed asymmetry of subcortical and cerebral cortical structures in up to 1,933 people with ADHD and 1,829 unaffected controls. Asymmetry Indexes (AIs) were calculated per participant for each bilaterally paired measure, and linear mixed effects modeling was applied separately in children, adolescents, adults, and the total sample, to test exhaustively for potential associations of ADHD with structural brain asymmetries. RESULTS: There was no evidence for altered caudate nucleus asymmetry in ADHD, in contrast to prior literature. In children, there was less rightward asymmetry of the total hemispheric surface area compared to controls (t = 2.1, p = .04). Lower rightward asymmetry of medial orbitofrontal cortex surface area in ADHD (t = 2.7, p = .01) was similar to a recent finding for autism spectrum disorder. There were also some differences in cortical thickness asymmetry across age groups. In adults with ADHD, globus pallidus asymmetry was altered compared to those without ADHD. However, all effects were small (Cohen's d from -0.18 to 0.18) and would not survive study-wide correction for multiple testing. CONCLUSION: Prior studies of altered structural brain asymmetry in ADHD were likely underpowered to detect the small effects reported here. Altered structural asymmetry is unlikely to provide a useful biomarker for ADHD, but may provide neurobiological insights into the trait.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad , Trastorno del Espectro Autista , Adolescente , Adulto , Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagen , Núcleo Caudado , Niño , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia MagnéticaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Attenuated inhibitory control is one of the most robust findings in the neuropsychology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear whether this represents a deficit in outright stopping (reactive inhibition), whether it relates to a deficit in anticipatory response slowing (proactive inhibition), or both. In addition, children with other development disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often have symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity similar to children with ADHD. These may relate to similar underlying changes in inhibitory processing. METHODS: In this study, we used a modified stop-signal task to dissociate reactive and proactive inhibition. We included not only children with ADHD, but also children primarily diagnosed with an ASD and high parent-rated levels of ADHD symptoms. RESULTS: We replicated the well-documented finding of attenuated reactive inhibition in children with ADHD. In addition, we found a similar deficit in children with ASD and a similar level of ADHD symptoms. In contrast, we found no evidence for deficits in proactive inhibition in either clinical group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings re-emphasize the role of reactive inhibition in children with ADHD and ADHD symptoms. Moreover, our findings stress the importance of a trans-diagnostic approach to the relationship between behavior and neuropsychology.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Función Ejecutiva/fisiología , Inhibición Proactiva , Desempeño Psicomotor/fisiología , Inhibición Reactiva , Niño , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
Studies of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have shown developmental changes in the cortical mantle. Different dimensions of cortical morphology, such as surface area and thickness, relate to different neurodevelopmental mechanisms. As such, studying multiple dimensions may inform us about the developmental origins of ADHD. Furthermore, results from existing longitudinal samples await replication. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal study of multiple cortical dimensions in a sizable, independent ADHD sample. We analyzed 297 anatomical MRI scans from two matched groups of 94 subjects with ADHD and 94 controls, aged 6-28 years. We estimated the developmental trajectories of cortical volume, surface, thickness and gyrification for 68 regions using mixed-effects regression analysis. Subjects with ADHD had smaller overall cortical volume, predominantly driven by decreases in frontal lobe volume that were associated with reduced surface area and gyrification. Nearly all decreases were stable across development. Only a few decreases survived stringent Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, with the smallest detectable Cohen's d |0.43|. There were no between-group differences in cortical thickness, or in subcortical volumes. Our results suggest that ADHD is associated with developmentally persistent reductions in frontal cortical volume, surface area, and gyrification. This may implicate early neurodevelopmental mechanisms regulating cortical expansion and convolution in ADHD.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Corteza Cerebral/fisiopatología , Adolescente , Mapeo Encefálico , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Procesamiento de Imagen Asistido por Computador/métodos , Estudios Longitudinales , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética/métodos , Masculino , Neurogénesis/fisiologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Changes in reward processing are thought to be involved in the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as other developmental disorders. In addition, different forms of therapy for ADHD rely on reinforcement principles. As such, improved understanding of reward processing in ADHD could eventually lead to more effective treatment options. However, differences in reward processing may not be specific to ADHD, but may be a trans-diagnostic feature of disorders that involve ADHD-like symptoms. METHODS: In this event-related fMRI study, we used a child-friendly version of the monetary incentive delay task to assess performance and brain activity during reward anticipation. Also, we collected questionnaire data to assess reward sensitivity in daily life. For final analyses, data were available for 27 typically developing children, 24 children with ADHD, and 25 children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD symptoms. RESULTS: We found decreased activity in ventral striatum during anticipation of reward in children with ADHD symptoms, both for children with ADHD as their primary diagnosis and in children with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD symptoms. We found that higher parent-rated sensitivity to reward was associated with greater anticipatory activity in ventral striatum for children with ADHD symptoms. In contrast, there was no relationship between the degree of ADHD symptoms and activity in ventral striatum. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence of biological and behavioral differences in reward sensitivity in children with ADHD symptoms, regardless of their primary diagnosis. Ultimately, a dimensional brain-behavior model of reward sensitivity in children with symptoms of ADHD may be useful to refine treatment options dependent on reward processing.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Trastorno del Espectro Autista/fisiopatología , Conducta Infantil/fisiología , Recompensa , Estriado Ventral/fisiopatología , Anticipación Psicológica , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/epidemiología , Trastorno del Espectro Autista/epidemiología , Mapeo Encefálico , Niño , Comorbilidad , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , MasculinoRESUMEN
Changes in cognitive control and timing have both been implicated in ADHD. Both are involved in building and monitoring expectations about the environment, and altering behavior if those expectations are violated. In ADHD, problems with expectations about future events have high face validity, as this would be associated with behavior that is inappropriate only given a certain context, similar to symptoms of the disorder. In this fMRI study, we used a timing manipulated go/nogo task to assess brain activity related to expectations about what (cognitive control) and when (timing) events would occur. We hypothesized that problems in building expectations about the environment are a more general, trans-diagnostic characteristic of children with hyperactive, impulsive and inattentive symptoms. To address this, we included children with ASD and symptoms of ADHD, in addition to children with ADHD and typically developing children. We found between-group differences in brain activity related to expectations about when (timing), but not what events will occur (cognitive control). Specifically, we found timing-related hypo-activity that was in part unique to children with a primary diagnosis of ADHD (left pallidum) and in part shared by children with similar levels of ADHD symptoms and a primary diagnosis of ASD (left subthalamic nucleus). Moreover, we found poorer task performance related to timing, but only in children with ASD and symptoms of ADHD. Ultimately, such neurobiological changes in children with ADHD symptoms may relate to a failure to build or monitor expectations and thereby hinder the efficiency of their interaction with the environment.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/diagnóstico por imagen , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagen , Conducta Infantil/psicología , Hipercinesia/diagnóstico , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética/métodos , Adolescente , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/psicología , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Hipercinesia/psicología , Masculino , Análisis y Desempeño de TareasRESUMEN
Frontostriatal brain areas have been implicated in the neurobiology of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but little work has directly addressed the white matter connections between these regions. The present study investigates the microstructural organization and myelination of frontostriatal white matter in children with ADHD and controls. Diffusion tensor imaging and magnetization transfer imaging scans were acquired in 30 children with ADHD and 34 controls. A study specific volume of interest (VOI) of frontostriatal white matter was created using a tractography based statistical group map. Fractional anisotropy (FA, indexing microstructural organization) and magnetization transfer ratio (MTR, indexing macromolecular content, myelin in particular) were computed for the frontostriatal VOI and for total cerebral white matter. Exploratory analyses were conducted investigating the effect of stimulant use on these measures. Frontostriatal FA but not MTR was decreased in ADHD compared with controls. There were no differences in FA or MTR for total cerebral white matter. Frontostriatal FA correlated negatively with teacher-rated attention problems in controls but not children with ADHD. The duration of stimulant use did not affect the main results. Changes in frontostriatal connectivity in ADHD appear to be related to changes in microstructural organization rather than myelination per se. A correlation with attention problems for controls suggests that frontostriatal organization is relevant to ADHD-related behaviors.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/patología , Mapeo Encefálico , Encéfalo/patología , Vías Nerviosas/patología , Adolescente , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Encéfalo/fisiopatología , Niño , Imagen de Difusión Tensora , Femenino , Humanos , Interpretación de Imagen Asistida por Computador , Masculino , Vías Nerviosas/fisiopatologíaRESUMEN
Objective: This article aims to assess whether individual differences in reward sensitivity can be used to predict which children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will benefit most from behavioral interventions that include reinforcement. Methods: A 12-week behavioral intervention was offered to 21 children with ADHD and their parents. Reward sensitivity was assessed prior to the intervention using a combination of psychological and physiological measures. ADHD symptoms were assessed pre- and posttreatment using the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD and Normal behavior (SWAN) rating scale. Results: Lower scores on one of the questionnaire scales were associated with greater pre/posttreatment differences in ADHD symptoms. Conclusion: We found that pre/posttreatment change was associated with one measure of parent-rated reward sensitivity. Children with low impulsive negative behavior toward gaining reward improved most during treatment. This result suggests that aspects of reward-related behaviors in ADHD may be useful to predict the effectiveness of treatment.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/terapia , Terapia Conductista , Niño , Familia , Humanos , Proyectos Piloto , RecompensaAsunto(s)
Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/clasificación , Neurobiología , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/diagnóstico , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/psicología , Encéfalo/crecimiento & desarrollo , Humanos , Modelos Neurológicos , Sistema Nervioso/fisiopatologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Multiple pathway models of ADHD suggest that multiple, separable biological pathways may lead to symptoms of the disorder. If this is the case, it should be possible to identify subgroups of children with ADHD based on distinct patterns of brain activity. Previous studies have used latent class analysis (LCA) to define subgroups at the behavioral and cognitive level and to then test whether they differ at the neurobiological level. In this proof of concept study, we took a reverse approach. We applied LCA to functional imaging data from two previously published studies to explore whether we could identify subgroups of children with ADHD symptoms at the neurobiological level with a meaningful relation to behavior or neuropsychology. METHODS: Fifty-six children with symptoms of ADHD (27 children with ADHD and 29 children with ASD and ADHD symptoms) and 31 typically developing children performed two neuropsychological tasks assessing reward sensitivity and temporal expectancy during functional magnetic resonance imaging. LCA was used to identify subgroups with similar patterns of brain activity separately for children with ADHD-symptoms and typically developing children. Behavioral and neuropsychological differences between subgroups were subsequently investigated. RESULTS: For typically developing children, a one-subgroup model gave the most parsimonious fit, whereas for children with ADHD-symptoms a two-subgroup model best fits the data. The first ADHD subgroup (nâ¯=â¯49) showed attenuated brain activity compared to the second subgroup (nâ¯=â¯7) and to typically developing children (nâ¯=â¯31). Notably, the ADHD subgroup with attenuated brain activity showed less behavioral problems in everyday life. CONCLUSIONS: In this proof of concept study, we showed that we could identify distinct subgroups of children with ADHD-symptoms based on their brain activity profiles. Generalizability was limited due to the small sample size, but ultimately such neurobiological profiles could improve insight in individual prognosis and treatment options.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Encéfalo/fisiopatología , Neuroimagen , Recompensa , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Análisis de Clases Latentes , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética/métodos , Masculino , Neuroimagen/métodos , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas , Prueba de Estudio ConceptualRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Neuroimaging studies show structural alterations of various brain regions in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although nonreplications are frequent. The authors sought to identify cortical characteristics related to ADHD using large-scale studies. METHODS: Cortical thickness and surface area (based on the Desikan-Killiany atlas) were compared between case subjects with ADHD (N=2,246) and control subjects (N=1,934) for children, adolescents, and adults separately in ENIGMA-ADHD, a consortium of 36 centers. To assess familial effects on cortical measures, case subjects, unaffected siblings, and control subjects in the NeuroIMAGE study (N=506) were compared. Associations of the attention scale from the Child Behavior Checklist with cortical measures were determined in a pediatric population sample (Generation-R, N=2,707). RESULTS: In the ENIGMA-ADHD sample, lower surface area values were found in children with ADHD, mainly in frontal, cingulate, and temporal regions; the largest significant effect was for total surface area (Cohen's d=-0.21). Fusiform gyrus and temporal pole cortical thickness was also lower in children with ADHD. Neither surface area nor thickness differences were found in the adolescent or adult groups. Familial effects were seen for surface area in several regions. In an overlapping set of regions, surface area, but not thickness, was associated with attention problems in the Generation-R sample. CONCLUSIONS: Subtle differences in cortical surface area are widespread in children but not adolescents and adults with ADHD, confirming involvement of the frontal cortex and highlighting regions deserving further attention. Notably, the alterations behave like endophenotypes in families and are linked to ADHD symptoms in the population, extending evidence that ADHD behaves as a continuous trait in the population. Future longitudinal studies should clarify individual lifespan trajectories that lead to nonsignificant findings in adolescent and adult groups despite the presence of an ADHD diagnosis.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/diagnóstico por imagen , Corteza Cerebral/diagnóstico por imagen , Adolescente , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/patología , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Corteza Cerebral/patología , Corteza Cerebral/fisiopatología , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Neuroimagen , Escalas de Valoración Psiquiátrica , Factores Sexuales , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the XKR4 gene has been linked to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This gene is preferentially expressed in cerebellum, a brain structure implicated in this disorder. This study investigated the effects of this SNP on cerebellar development in children with and without ADHD. We collected 279 longitudinal T1-weighted structural images and DNA from 58 children with ADHD and 64 typically developing (TD) children matched for age, IQ, and gender. Groups were divided by the XKR4 rs2939678 SNP into A-allele carriers versus subjects homozygous for the G-allele. Cerebellar lobular volumes were segmented into 35 regions of interest using MAGeTBrain, an automated multi-atlas segmentation pipeline for anatomical MRI, and statistically analyzed using linear mixed models. We found decreased gray matter (GM) volumes in ADHD compared to TD children in bilateral lobules VIIIA, left VIIIB, right VIIB, and vermis VI. Furthermore, we found a linear age by gene interaction in left lobule VIIB where subjects homozygous for the G-allele showed a decrease in volume over time compared to A-allele carriers. We further found quadratic age × gene and age × diagnosis interactions in left lobule IV. Subjects homozygous for the G-allele (the genotype overtransmitted in ADHD) showed more suppressed, almost flat quadratic growth curves compared to A-allele carriers, similar to individuals with ADHD compared to controls. However, there was no interaction between genotype and diagnosis, suggesting that any effects of this SNP on cerebellar development are not specific to the disorder.
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Reward processing has been implicated in developmental disorders. However, the classic task to probe reward anticipation, the monetary incentive delay task, has an abstract coding of reward and no storyline and may therefore be less appropriate for use with developmental populations. We modified the task to create a version appropriate for use with children. We investigated whether this child-friendly version could elicit ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation in typically developing children and young adolescents (aged 9.5-14.5). In addition, we tested whether our performance-based measure of reward sensitivity was associated with anticipatory activity in ventral striatum. Reward anticipation was related to activity in bilateral ventral striatum. Moreover, we found an association between individual reward sensitivity and activity in ventral striatum. We conclude that this task assesses ventral striatal activity in a child-friendly paradigm. The combination with a performance-based measure of reward sensitivity potentially makes the task a powerful tool for developmental imaging studies of reward processing.
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Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Recompensa , Estriado Ventral/patología , Adolescente , Anticipación Psicológica/fisiología , Mapeo Encefálico/métodos , Niño , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Motivación , Proyectos Piloto , Tiempo de Reacción/fisiología , Estriado Ventral/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Methylphenidate is the first-choice pharmacological intervention for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The pharmacological and behavioral effects of methylphenidate are well described, but less is known about neurochemical brain changes induced by methylphenidate. This level of analysis may be informative on how the behavioral effects of methylphenidate are established. This paper reviews structural and functional MRI studies that have investigated effects of methylphenidate in children with ADHD. Structural MRI studies provide evidence that long-term stimulant treatment may normalize structural brain changes found in the white matter, the anterior cingulate cortex, the thalamus, and the cerebellum in ADHD. Moreover, preliminary evidence suggests that methylphenidate treatment may normalize the trajectory of cortical development in ADHD. Functional MRI has provided evidence that methylphenidate administration has acute effects on brain functioning, and even suggests that methylphenidate may normalize brain activation patterns as well as functional connectivity in children with ADHD during cognitive control, attention, and during rest. The effects of methylphenidate on the developing brain appear highly specific and dependent on numerous factors, including biological factors such as genetic predispositions, subject-related factors such as age and symptom severity, and task-related factors such as task difficulty. Future studies on structural and functional brain changes in ADHD may benefit from inclusion strategies guided by current medication status and medication history. Further studies on the effects of methylphenidate treatment on structural and functional MRI parameters are needed to address unresolved issues of the long-term effects of treatment, as well as the mechanism through which medication-induced brain changes bring about clinical improvement.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/patología , Encéfalo/efectos de los fármacos , Estimulantes del Sistema Nervioso Central/uso terapéutico , Inhibidores de Captación de Dopamina/uso terapéutico , Metilfenidato/uso terapéutico , Neuronas/efectos de los fármacos , Adolescente , Conducta del Adolescente/efectos de los fármacos , Desarrollo del Adolescente/efectos de los fármacos , Animales , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/tratamiento farmacológico , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/metabolismo , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Encéfalo/patología , Niño , Conducta Infantil/efectos de los fármacos , Desarrollo Infantil/efectos de los fármacos , Neuroimagen Funcional , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Neurogénesis/efectos de los fármacos , Neuronas/metabolismo , Neuronas/patologíaRESUMEN
Recent neurobiological models of ADHD suggest that deficits in different neurobiological pathways may independently lead to symptoms of this disorder. At least three independent pathways may be involved: a dorsal frontostriatal pathway involved in cognitive control, a ventral frontostriatal pathway involved in reward processing and a frontocerebellar pathway related to temporal processing. Importantly, we and others have suggested that disruptions in these three pathways should lead to separable deficits at the cognitive level. Furthermore, if these truly represent separate biological pathways to ADHD, these cognitive deficits should segregate between individuals with ADHD. The present study tests these hypotheses in a sample of children, adolescents and young adults with ADHD and controls. 149 Subjects participated in a short computerized battery assessing cognitive control, timing and reward sensitivity. We used Principal Component Analysis to find independent components underlying the variance in the data. The segregation of deficits between individuals was tested using Loglinear Analysis. We found four components, three of which were predicted by the model: Cognitive control, reward sensitivity and timing. Furthermore, 80% of subjects with ADHD that had a deficit were deficient on only one component. Loglinear Analysis statistically confirmed the independent segregation of deficits between individuals. We therefore conclude that cognitive control, timing and reward sensitivity were separable at a cognitive level and that deficits on these components segregated between individuals with ADHD. These results support a neurobiological framework of separate biological pathways to ADHD with separable cognitive deficits.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Cognición/fisiología , Modelos Neurológicos , Modelos Psicológicos , Recompensa , Percepción del Tiempo/fisiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Pruebas Neuropsicológicas , Análisis de Componente PrincipalRESUMEN
This study investigates the effects of XKR4, a recently identified candidate gene for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), birth weight, and their interaction on brain volume in ADHD. XKR4 is expressed in cerebellum and low birth weight has been associated both with changes in cerebellum and with ADHD, probably due to its relation with prenatal adversity. Anatomical MRI scans were acquired in 58 children with ADHD and 64 typically developing controls and processed to obtain volumes of cerebrum, cerebellum and gray and white matter in each structure. DNA was collected from saliva. Analyses including data on birth weight were conducted in a subset of 37 children with ADHD and 51 controls where these data were retrospectively collected using questionnaires. There was an interaction between genotype and birth weight for cerebellum gray matter volume (p = .020). The combination of homozygosity for the G-allele (the allele previously found to be overtransmitted in ADHD) and higher birth weight was associated with smaller volume. Furthermore, birth weight was positively associated with cerebellar white matter volume in controls, but not ADHD (interaction: p = .021). The interaction of genotype with birth weight affecting cerebellum gray matter is consistent with models that emphasize increased influence of genetic risk-factors in an otherwise favorable prenatal environment. The absence of an association between birth weight and cerebellum white matter volume in ADHD suggests that other genetic or environmental effects may be at play, unrelated to XKR4. These results underscore the importance of considering environmental effects in imaging genetics studies.
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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and intelligence (IQ) are both heritable phenotypes. Overlapping genetic effects have been suggested to influence both, with neuroimaging work suggesting similar overlap in terms of morphometric properties of the brain. Together, this evidence suggests that the brain changes characteristic of ADHD may vary as a function of IQ. This study investigated this hypothesis in a sample of 108 children with ADHD and 106 typically developing controls, who participated in a cross-sectional anatomical MRI study. A subgroup of 64 children also participated in a diffusion tensor imaging scan. Brain volumes, local cortical thickness and average cerebral white matter microstructure were analyzed in relation to diagnostic group and IQ. Dimensional analyses investigated possible group differences in the relationship between anatomical measures and IQ. Second, the groups were split into above and below median IQ subgroups to investigate possible differences in the trajectories of cortical development. Dimensionally, cerebral gray matter volume and cerebral white matter microstructure were positively associated with IQ for controls, but not for ADHD. In the analyses of the below and above median IQ subgroups, we found no differences from controls in cerebral gray matter volume in ADHD with below-median IQ, but a delay of cortical development in a number of regions, including prefrontal areas. Conversely, in ADHD with above-median IQ, there were significant reductions from controls in cerebral gray matter volume, but no local differences in the trajectories of cortical development.In conclusion, the basic relationship between IQ and neuroanatomy appears to be altered in ADHD. Our results suggest that there may be multiple brain phenotypes associated with ADHD, where ADHD combined with above median IQ is characterized by small, more global reductions in brain volume that are stable over development, whereas ADHD with below median IQ is associated more with a delay of cortical development.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/patología , Corteza Cerebral/patología , Inteligencia , Adolescente , Encéfalo/crecimiento & desarrollo , Encéfalo/patología , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Corteza Cerebral/crecimiento & desarrollo , Niño , Imagen de Difusión Tensora , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Tamaño de los Órganos , FenotipoRESUMEN
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has long been conceptualized as a neurobiological disorder of the prefrontal cortex and its connections. Circuits with the prefrontal cortex relevant to ADHD include dorsal frontostriatal, orbitofronto-striatal, and fronto-cerebellar circuits. Dorsal frontostriatal circuitry has been linked to cognitive control, whereas orbitofronto-striatal loops have been related to reward processing. Fronto-cerebellar circuits have been implicated in timing. Neurobiological dysfunction in any of these circuits could lead to symptoms of ADHD, as behavioral control could be disturbed by: 1) deficits in the prefrontal cortex itself; or 2) problems in the circuits relaying information to the prefrontal cortex, leading to reduced signaling for control. This article suggests a model for differentiating between interlinked reciprocal circuits with the prefrontal cortex in ADHD. If such a differentiation can be achieved, it might permit a neurobiological subtyping of ADHD, perhaps by defining "dorsal fronto-striatal," "orbitofronto-striatal," or "fronto-cerebellar" subtypes of ADHD. This could be useful as a template for investigating the neurobiology of ADHD and, ultimately, clinically.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Cerebelo/fisiopatología , Cuerpo Estriado/fisiopatología , Lóbulo Frontal/fisiopatología , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/diagnóstico , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/genética , Mapeo Encefálico/métodos , Cognición/fisiología , Humanos , Modelos Teóricos , Vías Nerviosas/anatomía & histología , Vías Nerviosas/fisiopatologíaRESUMEN
This paper evaluates neuroimaging of cognitive control as an endophenotype for investigating the role of dopamine genes in ADHD. First, this paper reviews both data-driven and theory-driven approaches from genetics and neuroimaging. Several viable candidate genes have been implicated in ADHD, including the dopamine DRD4 and DAT1 genes. Neuroimaging studies have resulted in a good understanding of the neurobiological basis of deficits in cognitive control in this disorder. Second, this paper discusses imaging genetics in ADHD. Papers to date have taken one of two approaches: whereas early papers investigated the effects of one or two candidate genes on many brain areas, later papers constrained regions of interest by gene expression patterns. These papers have largely focused on cognitive control and the dopamine circuits involved in this ability. The results show that neuroimaging of cognitive control is useful as an endophenotype in investigating dopamine gene effects in ADHD. Other avenues of investigation are suggested by a combination of data- and theory-driven approaches in both genetics and neuroimaging.
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Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/genética , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/fisiopatología , Encéfalo/fisiopatología , Cognición/fisiología , Dopamina/genética , Dopamina/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte de Dopamina a través de la Membrana Plasmática/genética , Expresión Génica , Ligamiento Genético , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Receptores de Dopamina D4/genética , Proteínas de Transporte de Serotonina en la Membrana Plasmática/genéticaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To determine the potential of inhibitory performance, response speed, and response accuracy and variability, measures central to the conceptualization of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in distinguishing children with ADHD from healthy controls (HCs). METHOD: The stop signal paradigm was administered to 38 children with ADHD and 31 NCs. The stop signal reaction time (SSRT), mean reaction time (MRT), intraindividual coefficient of variation (ICV), and number of errors were used to predict diagnostic status. RESULTS: Univariate tests showed that the ADHD group performed worse than NCs on all of the dependent variables. Exploratory univariate analyses showed that oppositional defiant disorder comorbidity and ADHD type did not influence results except for the ICV, the effect for this variable (more variability in the ADHD group) being less pronounced for the Predominantly Inattentive type than for the Hyperactive-Impulsive and Combined types. A logistic regression model of the MRT, ICV, and number of errors combined showed best predictive performance, with the MRT contributing the most to group classification (56% of the variance). The final model (MRT, ICV, and number of errors) predicted 87% of the sample in the correct diagnostic category. Operating characteristics showed excellent sensitivity and specificity of 89.5% and 83.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results contrast with theoretical accounts emphasizing inhibitory control as the pivotal measure characterizing cognitive performance in ADHD. Results are discussed in the context of a delay aversion perspective of ADHD.