Cited by 178Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsAutism Spectrum Disorder Research

Altered white matter microstructure in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Nagel, Bonnie J., Bathula, Deepti, Herting, Megan, Schmitt, Colleen, Kroenke, Christopher D., Fair, Damien, Nigg, Joel T.·2011·Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective Identification of biomarkers is a priority for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Studies have documented macrostructural brain alterations in ADHD, but few have examined white matter microstructure, particularly in preadolescent children. Given dramatic white matter maturation across childhood, microstructural differences seen in adolescents and adults with ADHD may reflect compensatory restructuring, rather than early neurophenotypic markers of the disorder.Method Using tract-based spatial statistics, mean fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were created using diffusion tensor imaging. FA, mean diffusivity (MD), and associated axial and radial diffusivities were compared between 16 children with ADHD and 20 healthy children (age 7-9 years).Results Youth with ADHD showed decreased FA in frontoparietal, frontolimbic, cerebellar, corona radiata, and temporo-occipital white matter compared with controls. In addition, ADHD was associated with lower MD in the posterior limb of the internal capsule and frontoparietal white matter and greater MD in frontolimbic white matter. Lower axial diffusion and/or higher radial diffusion were differentially observed for youth with ADHD in earlier versus later maturing areas of group FA/MD difference.Conclusions This study suggests that, even prior to adolescence, ADHD represents a disorder of altered structural connectivity of the brain, characterized by distributed atypical white matter microstructure. In addition, later maturing frontolimbic pathways were abnormal in children with ADHD, likely due to delayed or decreased myelination, a finding not previously demonstrated in the adolescent or adult stages of the disorder. These results suggest that disruptions in white matter microstructure may play a key role in the early pathophysiology of ADHD.

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  1. [29]Silk TJ Vance A Rinehart N Bradshaw JL Cunnington R White-matter abnormalities in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A diffusion tensor imaging study Human Brain Mapping 2008 23 23 PMC6870653 19107752
  2. [32]Conners KC Conners 3rd Edition Manual New York Multi-Health Systems Inc. 2008
  3. [60]Barkley RA Deficient emotional self-regulation is a core component of ADHD Journal of ADHD and related disorders 2010 1 2 5 37

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Authors
Nagel, B. J., Bathula, D., Herting, M., Schmitt, C., Kroenke, C. D., Fair, D., & Nigg, J. T.
Affiliations
Oregon Health & Science University (US)
Corresponding author
Nagel, Bonnie J.
Venue
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-03
Volume
50
Issue
3
Pages
283-292
ISSN
0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2086827281
Cited by
178
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 9
FWCI
11.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH-59105, R01MH059105, R01MH086654)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (K08 NS52147, K08NS052147)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Keywords
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, white matter microstructure, fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, diffusion tensor imaging, tract-based spatial statistics, myelination, white matter maturation, structural connectivity, children, biomarkers, pathophysiology
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Brain, Child, Humans, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Anisotropy, Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Leukoencephalopathies

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