Imaging normal and abnormal brain development: new perspectives for child psychiatry

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Child Psychiatry

Background:

• Non-invasive brain imaging techniques like MRI enable the study of brain development in children and adolescents.
• Understanding brain abnormalities in conditions such as ADHD and COS is crucial for advancing clinical and preclinical research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize findings from neuroimaging studies on brain abnormalities in ADHD and COS.
• To explore how these neuroimaging findings bridge clinical and preclinical perspectives in developmental neuroscience.

Main Methods:

• A review of anatomical brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in ADHD and COS.
• Discussion of findings in the context of candidate mechanisms from developmental neuroscience research.

Main Results:

• ADHD is associated with reduced total brain volume (4%), basal ganglia abnormalities, and a significant decrease in cerebellar vermal volume (15%), with no age-related progression.
• Childhood onset schizophrenia (COS) is characterized by reduced cortical grey matter volume (10%) and progressive loss of regional grey matter in frontal and temporal areas during adolescence.

Conclusions:

• ADHD findings suggest an early, non-progressive developmental issue affecting brain growth and dopamine circuits.
• COS findings indicate progressive grey matter loss, pointing to processes influencing synaptic pruning, supported by post-mortem and animal studies.