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Hypofrontality in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during higher-order motor control: a study with functional
K Rubia1, S Overmeyer, E Taylor
1Medical Research Council Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Kings' College, London, U.K. k.rubia@iop.kcl.ac.uk
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|June 9, 1999
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is linked to reduced brain activity in prefrontal regions crucial for motor control. Functional MRI reveals these neural differences in adolescents with ADHD during inhibition and timing tasks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention and hyperactivity.
- Prefrontal cortex dysfunction has been implicated in ADHD, affecting executive functions like motor control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that ADHD is associated with prefrontal brain region dysfunction.
- To examine neural activity during motor response inhibition and motor timing in adolescents with ADHD using functional MRI.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to compare brain activation.
- Seven adolescent boys with ADHD and nine age-, sex-, and IQ-matched controls performed a stop task and a motor timing task.
Main Results:
- Adolescents with ADHD exhibited lower activation in the right mesial prefrontal cortex during both tasks.
- Reduced activation was also observed in the right inferior prefrontal cortex and left caudate during the stop task.
Conclusions:
- ADHD is associated with subnormal activation of prefrontal systems governing higher-order motor control.
- Functional MRI is a viable method for studying the neural correlates of ADHD.