Cited by 67Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesAutism Spectrum Disorder Research

What can cortical development in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder teach us about the early developmental mechanisms involved?

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Ambrosino, Sara, de Zeeuw, Patrick, Wierenga, Lara Marise, van Dijk, Sarai, Durston, Sarah·2017·Cerebral Cortex

Abstract

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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  • Although reduced frontal lobe volume has been frequently reported in ADHD, studies are discrepant about whether the anomaly is unilateral or bilateral, which subregions are involved, whether it comprises white matter, gray matter, or both, and whether it reflects overall smaller brain volume.

    “Although reduced frontal lobe volume has been frequently reported, there are discrepancies as to whether the anomaly: (1) was unilateral (Li et al., 2007; Ambrosino et al., 2017) or bilateral (Gehricke et al., 2017);”

    From A Review of Heterogeneity in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (2019) · cites this paper as Ambrosino et al., 2017

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Dale AM, Fischl B, Sereno MI. 1999. Cortical surface-based anal- ysis I. Segmentation and surface reconstruction. Neuroimage. 9(2):179-194.
  2. Fischl B. 2012. FreeSurfer. Neuroimage. 62(2):774-781.
  3. Fischl B, Sereno MI, Dale AM. 1999. Cortical surface-based anal- ysis ii: inflation, flattening, and a surface-based coordinate system. Neuroimage. 9(2):195-207.
  4. Wechsler D. 2005. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Derde Editie NL. Handleiding en Verantwoording. London: Harcourt Assessment. (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -Third Edition, Dutch Version, Manual).

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Authors
Ambrosino, S., de Zeeuw, P., Wierenga, L. M., van Dijk, S., & Durston, S.
Affiliations
  • University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
  • NICHE Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands
Corresponding author
Ambrosino, Sara
Venue
Cerebral Cortex
Published
2017-07-18
Volume
27
Issue
9
Pages
4624-4634
ISSN
  • 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2199
OpenAlex
W2739399747
Cited by
67
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1
FWCI
5.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) (VIDI 91776384, VICI 453-10-005)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Keywords
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cortical development, cortical volume, cortical surface area, cortical thickness, cortical folding, frontal lobe, neurodevelopmental mechanisms, developmental trajectories, longitudinal MRI, cortical expansion
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Child, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neurogenesis

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