BRAIN IMAGING OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

Written by Chandan J. VAIDYA on 15 December 2006. Posted in Special issue: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Guest Editors: Oana BENGA, Andrei MIU, Volume IX, Nr. 2

Abstract:

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders of development, but its neuropathophysiology is not well understood. Elucidation of the neural basis of ADHD is important for the development of biological markers that can supplement behavioral diagnostic criteria. Structural and functional imaging studies suggest that dopaminergic dysfunction of frontal, striatal, and cerebellar regions is at the heart of the disorder. However, there is no signature abnormality in ADHD. Rather, multiple structural and functional abnormalities appear to characterize ADHD. While this variability may be due to methodological differences across studies, it is equally likely that it reflects phenotypic heterogeneity that is inherent to ADHD. Future studies face the challenge of identifying brain-behavior linkages in ADHD that consider contributions of gender, subtype, symptom severity, and cognitive performance.

Keywords: executive function, frontal, striatal, children,developmental disorders