More Evidence of Neurobiological Abnormalities in ADHD

Deactivations of certain brain areas during a cognitive task were lacking in children with ADHD when untreated but not when on medication.

Even at rest, neurocircuitry in humans is active; this default-mode state is measurable with functional MRI. To explore how ADHD medications affect neural activity, researchers conducted an fMRI study of 16 children (mean age, 14.1 years) with ADHD who had strong clinical responses to immediate-acting stimulants (methylphenidate or amphetamine preparations) and who had impaired performance on the Stroop Color and Word Test (identifying the correct color of a display when the wrong color is spelled out; e.g., “blue” is written in green).

Participants underwent two fMRI studies while completing the Stroop test, once while unmedicated and once after receiving their usual dose. A comparison group of 20 unmedicated healthy controls of similar age…

Reviewing Author

Barbara Geller, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Barbara Geller, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose