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Neuroimaging of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Current Neuroscience-Informed Perspectives for Clinicians

  • Attention-Deficit Disorder (R Bussing, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The neuroimaging literature on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is growing rapidly. Here, we provide a critical overview of neuroimaging studies published recently, highlighting perspectives that may be of relevance for clinicians. After a comprehensive search of PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, and EMBASE, we located 41 pertinent papers published between January 2011 and April 2012, comprising both structural and functional neuroimaging studies. This literature is increasingly contributing to the notion that the pathophysiology of ADHD reflects abnormal interplay among large-scale brain circuits. Moreover, recent studies have begun to reveal the mechanisms of action of pharmacological treatment. Finally, imaging studies with a developmental perspective are revealing the brain correlates of ADHD over the lifespan, complementing clinical observations on the phenotypic continuity and discontinuity of the disorder. However, despite the increasing potential to eventually inform clinical practice, current imaging studies do not have validated applications in day-to-day clinical practice. Although novel analytical techniques are likely to accelerate the pace of translational applications, at the present we advise caution regarding inappropriate commercial misuse of imaging techniques in ADHD.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgments

Dr Cortese is currently supported by a grant from the European Commission (“Marie Curie” grant for Career Development, Outgoing International Fellowship, POIF-253103). This work was also supported by NIH grants MH083246, MH081218, HD065282, and K23M087770.

Disclosures

S. Cortese has served as a consultant to Shire Pharmaceuticals; has had travel/accommodations/meeting expenses reimbursed from Eli Lilly and Company and Shire Pharmaceuticals; and was a coinvestigator in studies sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Company, and Genopharm; F.X. Castellanos: none.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, Child Study Center of the NYU Langone Medical Center, One Park Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Samuele Cortese & F. Xavier Castellanos

  2. Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, G. B. Rossi Hospital, Department of Life Science and Reproduction, Verona University, Verona, Italy

    Samuele Cortese

  3. UMR_S INSERM U 930, ERL 3106, François-Rabelais University, Child Psychiatry Centre, University Hospital, Tours, France

    Samuele Cortese

  4. Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA

    F. Xavier Castellanos

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  1. Samuele Cortese
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Correspondence to Samuele Cortese.

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Cortese, S., Castellanos, F.X. Neuroimaging of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Current Neuroscience-Informed Perspectives for Clinicians. Curr Psychiatry Rep 14, 568–578 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-012-0310-y

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