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Aberrant white matter properties of the callosal tracts implicated in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Abstract

Aberrant microstructure of the callosal tracts has been found in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear whether the previously identified white matter (WM) alterations in boys with ADHD are also present in girls with ADHD. Thus, we applied diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate WM alterations in the callosal tracts in girls with ADHD. In this study, twenty-four adolescent girls (fourteen ADHD patients and ten typically developed girls) were recruited for high-resolution DTI. Automated fiber quantification of the callosum forceps major and the callosum forceps minor was then conducted. Diffusion parameters, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD), were calculated to investigate the microstructural integrity of the two callosal tracts. We also investigated correlations between diffusion properties and clinical measurements, including scores on Conners’ Parent Rating Scale, the Stroop Color-Word Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Continuous Performance Test, in ADHD patients and typically developed girls. Compared to typically developed adolescent girls, girls with ADHD had reduced FA values at nodes 59–70 and increased RD values at nodes 60–68 along the callosum forceps major. Lower FA values correlated with higher Hyperactivity–Impulsivity scores and lower control quotients, while higher RD values correlated with lower control quotients. This study revealed the disruption of interhemispheric connectivity, particularly across the right side of the occipital CC tract, which might be involved in visual processes in girls with ADHD. These findings enhanced current knowledge about the neuropathological basis of female ADHD.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the patients and control subjects for their participation in the study and to our colleagues who facilitated the work. This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81671669), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. LY14H090012), and the Sichuan Youth Science and Technology Foundation (Grant No. 2017JQ0001). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Q. Lin and X. Bu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Medical University, Nanbaixiang, Ouhai District, Wenzhou, 325003, Zhejiang Province, China

    Qingxia Lin, Yan Liang, Hong Chen, Weiqian Wang, Yanhong Yi, Haixi Lin & Chuang Yang

  2. Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan Province, China

    Xuan Bu, Lu Lu, Xinyu Hu & Xiaoqi Huang

  3. Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325003, Zhejiang Province, China

    Meihao Wang

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518038, Guangdong Province, China

    Jiaxiu Zhou

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  1. Qingxia Lin
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Contributions

QL, XB, XH and CY designed the study, contributed to data analysis, interpreted the data and wrote the manuscript; MW, YL, HC, WW, YY, and HL contributed to data acquisition and processing; XH and CY contributed to study supervision, obtained funding, and reviewed and commented on the first draft of the manuscript; and JZ, LL and XH assisted with data analysis and interpretation of findings. All authors critically reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript submitted for publication.

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Correspondence to Chuang Yang.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Lin, Q., Bu, X., Wang, M. et al. Aberrant white matter properties of the callosal tracts implicated in girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Brain Imaging and Behavior 14, 728–735 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-018-0010-2

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