New insights into attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using structural neuroimaging
Abstract
This article reviews recent advances in structural neuroimaging in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Observational studies have found treatment with psychostimulants to be associated more closely with dimensions of some brain structures in typically developing children than in those found in treatment-naïve children with ADHD. Novel analytic approaches allow for greater precision in the definition of brain regions that are most compromised in ADHD, with meta-analyses highlighting compromise of the basal ganglia. Cortical changes, particularly in the lateral prefrontal and parietal cortex, are also commonly reported, but with less consensus on the exact location of structural change. Anomalies in the shape of subcortical structures, specifically of the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and amygdala, implicate frontostriatal loops and the limbic system in the disorder. Finally, longitudinal data suggest that ADHD in childhood may be characterized by a delay in cortical maturation and that different clinical outcomes may be associated with different developmental trajectories in adolescence and beyond.
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Imaging studies have shown the PFC to be thinner in ADHD individuals, thereby hampering proper maturation and prefrontal connectivity leading to attentional dysfunction.
“Imaging studies have shown the PFC to be thinner in ADHD individuals, thereby hampering proper maturation and prefrontal connectivity leading to attentional dysfunction [382, 383].”
From Development of prefrontal cortex (2022) · cites this paper as [383]
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- Authors
- Shaw, P., & Rabin, C.
- Affiliations
- National Institute of Mental Health (US)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shaw, Philip
- ORCID
- Shaw, Philip
- Venue
- Current Psychiatry Reports
- Published
- 2009-10
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 393-398
- ISSN
- 1523-3812 (ISSN-L)
- 1535-1645
- OpenAlex
- W2032588944
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 1.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Current Psychiatry Reports (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, structural neuroimaging, basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, limbic system, cortical maturation, longitudinal brain development, psychostimulant treatment, treatment-naive children, developmental trajectories
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Brain, Brain Mapping, Child, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Meta-Analysis as Topic
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