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Abnormal functional network centrality in drug-naïve boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood and is characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Observations of distributed functional abnormalities in ADHD suggest aberrant large-scale brain network connectivity. However, few studies have measured the voxel-wise network centrality of boys with ADHD, which captures the functional relationships of a given voxel within the entire connectivity matrix of the brain. Here, to examine the network patterns characterizing children with ADHD, we recruited 47 boys with ADHD and 21 matched control boys who underwent resting-state functional imaging scanning in a 3.0 T MRI unit. We measured voxel-wise network centrality, indexing local functional relationships across the entire brain connectome, termed degree centrality (DC). Then, we chose the brain regions with altered DC as seeds to examine the remote functional connectivity (FC) of brain regions. We found that boys with ADHD exhibited (1) decreased centrality in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and increased centrality in the left superior occipital lobe (SOL) and right inferior parietal lobe (IPL); (2) decreased FC between the STG and the putamen and thalamus, which belong to the cognitive cortico-striatal–thalamic–cortical (CSTC) loop, and increased FC between the STG and medial/superior frontal gyrus within the affective CSTC loop; and (3) decreased connectivity between the SOL and cuneus within the dorsal attention network. Our results demonstrated that patients with ADHD show a connectivity-based pathophysiological process in the cognitive and affective CSTC loops and attention network.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant no. 81671669) and Youth Technology Grant of Sichuan Province (no. 2017JQ0001).

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Author notes

  1. Ming Zhou and Chuang Yang contributed to this study equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Zhou, Xuan Bu, Xinyu Hu & Xiaoqi Huang

  2. Department of Radiology, The Third Hospital of Mianyang/Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang, 621000, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Zhou

  3. Center of Psychoradiology, The Third Hospital of Mianyang/Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang, 621000, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Zhou & Xiaoqi Huang

  4. Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China

    Chuang Yang, Yan Liang, Haixi Lin, Hong Chen & Meihao Wang

Authors
  1. Ming Zhou
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  2. Chuang Yang
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  3. Xuan Bu
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  4. Yan Liang
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  7. Hong Chen
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  8. Meihao Wang
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  9. Xiaoqi Huang
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Contributions

XH and CY conceived and designed the experiments. CY, YL, HL, and HC recruited the patients and collected the data. MZ, XB, and YL performed the data analyses. MZ, CY, XB, and XH wrote the manuscript. HL, XH, and HC helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions. MZ and CY contributed to this study equally.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoqi Huang.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical statements

Approval for this study was granted by the local ethical committee of the First Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University. All participants and their parents were fully informed about the purpose and procedures of this study and written informed consent was obtained from the parents.

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Zhou, M., Yang, C., Bu, X. et al. Abnormal functional network centrality in drug-naïve boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 28, 1321–1328 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-019-01297-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-019-01297-6

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