News

Effects of ADHD on the brain differ between genders


 

References

The effect of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on white matter in the primary motor and medial orbitofrontal cortices differs significantly between boys and girls, according to Lisa Jacobson, Ph.D., and her associates.

For the study, 60 children aged 8-12, split evenly between boys and girls, were compared to a typically developing control group of similar size and makeup via diffusion tensor imaging. For boys with ADHD, fractional anisotropy (FA) was reduced in the primary motor cortex, compared with the control group. But FA was similar in the medial orbitofrontal cortex among the boys. For girls with ADHD, FA was similar in the primary motor cortex to that of the control group but higher in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, reported Dr. Jacobson, a psychologist and pediatric neuropsychologist at Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore.

©Jana Blašková/thinkstockphotos.com

Low FA in the primary motor cortex was associated with a higher reaction time variability (CVRT) in boys, and higher commission error rates in girls. Low FA in the medial orbitofrontal cortex was associated with higher CVRT and higher commission error rates in both boys and girls.

The study results “suggest a sexually dimorphic pattern of frontal WM abnormalities in children with ADHD, such that boys show greater involvement of motor regions crucial to more basic aspects of motor response control, whereas girls show greater involvement of prefrontal regions important to top-down regulation of higher order emotional and behavioral responses,” the investigators said.

Find the study in Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2015.08.014).

lfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

Recommended Reading

For young adults, suicide rate highest in American Indians/Alaska Natives
MDedge Psychiatry
Psychostimulants reduce anxiety in children with ADHD
MDedge Psychiatry
Complex picture emerges of prescription opioid abuse
MDedge Psychiatry
APA-IPS: Art therapy and CPT benefit PTSD, early results suggest
MDedge Psychiatry
Federally funded prevention programs tied to drop in suicide attempts
MDedge Psychiatry
One-third of children with mental health conditions see PCPs only
MDedge Psychiatry
APA-IPS: Smartphone app found feasible for managing schizophrenia
MDedge Psychiatry
Lithium safe, effective for kids with bipolar type I
MDedge Psychiatry
Depression, hypertension combo compounds cardiovascular risk
MDedge Psychiatry
Patient-centered early intervention superior in first-episode psychosis
MDedge Psychiatry