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Behavioural Treatment Increases Activity in the Cognitive Neuronal Networks in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

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Abstract

Response cost and token approach (RCT) within the scope of a summer camp training is an effective treatment program for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is likely that intensive RCT training influences networks responsible for ADHD symptoms. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was carried out in 12 children with ADHD before and after the RCT program and in 12 healthy control children twice. For fMRI, a Go/No-go paradigm was used to investigate the influence of RCT training on attention and impulsivity. The No-go condition revealed only weak activation in the dorsal part of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) before the training in children with ADHD compared to healthy children. However, this activation in these brain regions was significantly more pronounced after the training. This increase in hemodynamic response cannot be attributed merely to repetition of the measurement since the effect was not observed in healthy children. The increase in hemodynamic response in the ACC and right DLPFC was significantly associated with a reduction in response time variability and clinical symptoms in ADHD patients. After the RCT training, the children with ADHD demonstrated more pronounced activation of cortical structures which are typically related to response monitoring and self-control. It seems likely that children with ADHD learned more cognitive control in a continuous performance task as was revealed by both neuropsychological outcome and fMRI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic for Child and Adolescents Psychiatry, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany

    Michael Siniatchkin

  2. Department of Neuropediatric, Pediatric Hospital, Christian-Albrechts-University, Schwanenweg 20, D-24105, Kiel, Germany

    Michael Siniatchkin, Nora Glatthaar, Elisabeth Steinmann & Ulrich Stephani

  3. Institute of Medical Psychology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany

    Gabriele Gerber von Müller & Wolf-Dieter Gerber

  4. Center for Integrative Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany

    Alexander Prehn-Kristensen & Silja Knöchel

  5. Department of Neuroradiology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany

    Stephan Wolff

  6. Department of Clinical and Rehabilitation Psychology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Franz Petermann

  7. Clinic for Child and Adolescents Psychiatry, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany

    Anna Sotnikova

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  1. Michael Siniatchkin
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Correspondence to Michael Siniatchkin.

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Siniatchkin, M., Glatthaar, N., von Müller, G.G. et al. Behavioural Treatment Increases Activity in the Cognitive Neuronal Networks in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Brain Topogr 25, 332–344 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-012-0221-6

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