Sörös, Peter and Hoxhaj, Eliza and Borel, Patricia and Sadohara, Chiharu and Feige, Bernd and Matthies, Swantje and Müller, Helge H. O. and Bachmann, Katharina and Schulze, Marcel and Philipsen, Alexandra
(2019)
Hyperactivity/restlessness is associated with increased functional connectivity in adults with ADHD: a dimensional analysis of resting state fMRI.
BMC Psychiatry, 19 (1).
ISSN 1471-244X
Abstract
Background: Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious and frequent psychiatric disorder of multifactorial pathogenesis. Several lines of evidence support the idea that ADHD is, in its core, a disorder ofdysfunctional brain connectivity within and between several neurofunctional networks. The primary aim of thisstudy was to investigate associations between the functional connectivity within resting state brain networks andthe individual severity of core ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity).
Methods: Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data of 38 methylphenidate-naïve adultswith childhood-onset ADHD (20 women, mean age 40.5 years) were analyzed using independent componentanalysis (FSL’s MELODIC) and FSL’s dual regression technique. For motion correction, standard volume-realignmentfollowed by independent component analysis-based automatic removal of motion artifacts (FSL’s ICA-AROMA) wereemployed. To identify well-established brain networks, the independent components found in the ADHD groupwere correlated with brain networks previously found in healthy participants (Smith et al. PNAS 2009;106:13040–5).To investigate associations between functional connectivity and individual symptom severity, sex, and age, linearregressions were performed.
Results: Decomposition of resting state brain activity of adults with ADHD resulted in similar resting state networksas previously described for healthy adults. No significant differences in functional connectivity were seen betweenwomen and men. Advanced age was associated with decreased functional connectivity in parts of the bilateralcingulate and paracingulate cortex within the executive control network. More severe hyperactivity was associatedwith increased functional connectivity in the left putamen, right caudate nucleus, right central operculum and aportion of the right postcentral gyrus within the auditory/sensorimotor network.
Conclusions: The present study supports and extends our knowledge on the involvement of the striatum in thepathophysiology of ADHD, in particular, in the pathogenesis of hyperactivity. Our results emphasize the usefulnessof dimensional analyses in the study of ADHD, a highly heterogeneous disorder.
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