A Look at the Brain in 6-Year Old Boys with ADHD Symptoms

Abnormalities in specific neural circuits were detected by brain imaging in young boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Adults and older children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have evidence of reduced volumes in the striatum and cerebellum, and cortical thinning in the prefrontal, parietal, and temporal regions of the brain. In school-age children specifically, disruption of white-matter integrity in the frontal region, cerebellum, and corpus callosum is evident on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which measures myelination and fiber organization in white matter. These abnormalities pertain to specific neural circuits that control attention and executive function.

Now, researchers have used magnetic resonance imaging and DTI to study the brain morphology of 96 ethnically Chinese 6-year-old boys in Singapore. ADHD symptoms, according to t…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics