Background
Few studies have sought to identify, in a regionally unbiased way, the precise cortical
and subcortical regions that are affected by white matter abnormalities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to derive a comprehensive, whole-brain characterization
of connectomic disturbances in ADHD.
Methods
Using diffusion tensor imaging, whole-brain tractography, and an imaging connectomics
approach, we characterized altered white matter connectivity in 71 children and adolescents
with ADHD compared with 26 healthy control subjects. White matter differences were
further delineated between patients with (n = 40) and without (n = 26) the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive subtype of ADHD.
Results
A significant network comprising 25 distinct fiber bundles linking 23 different brain
regions spanning frontal, striatal, and cerebellar brain regions showed altered white
matter structure in ADHD patients (p < .05, family-wise error-corrected). Moreover, fractional anisotropy in some of these
fiber bundles correlated with attentional disturbances. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder subtypes were differentiated by a right-lateralized network (p < .05, family-wise error-corrected) predominantly linking frontal, cingulate, and
supplementary motor areas. Fractional anisotropy in this network was also correlated
with continuous performance test scores.
Conclusions
Using an unbiased, whole-brain, data-driven approach, we demonstrated abnormal white
matter connectivity in ADHD. The correlations observed with measures of attentional
performance underscore the functional importance of these connectomic disturbances
for the clinical phenotype of ADHD. A distributed pattern of white matter microstructural
integrity separately involving frontal, striatal, and cerebellar brain regions, rather
than direct frontostriatal connectivity, appears to be disrupted in children and adolescents
with ADHD.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 10, 2014
Accepted:
December 21,
2013
Received in revised form:
November 19,
2013
Received:
July 5,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Advances in the Genetics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity DisorderBiological PsychiatryVol. 76Issue 8
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