Coherence in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and excess beta activity in their EEG
Adam R Clarke1, Robert J Barry, Rory McCarthy
1Brain & Behaviour Research Institute and School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia. adam_clarke@uow.edu.au
Insights
Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) show distinct EEG coherence patterns. These findings highlight differences in brain function between typical ADHD, excess beta ADHD, and control groups.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychology
- Electroencephalography (EEG)
Background:
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.
- EEG coherence measures brain connectivity and has been used to study neurological differences in ADHD.
- Previous research has identified typical EEG profiles in ADHD, but less is known about children with excess beta activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare EEG coherence patterns in children with ADHD, specifically differentiating between a typical EEG profile and an excess beta activity profile.
- To compare these ADHD subgroups with a control group of neurotypical children.
Main Methods:
- The study included 34 children with ADHD (typical EEG profile), 34 children with ADHD (excess beta activity), and 34 age/sex-matched controls.
- EEG was recorded from 21 sites during a resting, eyes-closed condition.
- Wave-shape coherence was calculated for intrahemispheric and interhemispheric electrode pairs across delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands.
Main Results:
- The typical ADHD group showed increased intrahemispheric theta and beta coherence, and increased interhemispheric theta coherence compared to controls.
- The excess beta ADHD group exhibited differences in intrahemispheric theta coherence laterality and increased interhemispheric theta coherence in frontal regions.
- Reduced delta coherence in temporal regions was observed in the excess beta group, and reduced theta laterality effects were noted in the typical ADHD group.
Conclusions:
- Children with excess beta power in ADHD may share frontal lobe brain dysfunction with the typical ADHD profile.
- Qualitative differences in EEG coherence suggest potential variations in ADHD presentation or comorbid conditions.
- This study is the first to examine EEG coherence in ADHD children with increased beta power, offering novel insights into ADHD neurophysiology.
Objective:
This study investigated differences in coherence measures between two groups of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - with the typical EEG profile (increased theta and decreased beta activity), and with excess beta activity - and a normal control group.
Methods:
Thirty-four children with ADHD were included in each of the typical and excess beta groups, and were age and sex matched with 34 control subjects. EEG was recorded from 21 sites during an eyes-closed resting condition. Wave-shape coherence was calculated for eight intrahemispheric and eight interhemispheric electrode pairs, for the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands.
Results:
In comparison to the controls, the typical ADHD group primarily had increased intrahemispheric theta and beta coherence at short-medium inter-electrode distances, and increased interhemispheric coherence for theta in the frontal and central/parietal/occipital regions. Their laterality effect for interhemispheric short-medium inter-electrode distances was reduced in the theta band. Differences between the excess beta group and the control group were primarily found in laterality of the intrahemispheric theta coherence at short-medium electrode distances, and increased interhemispheric theta coherence in the frontal regions. Reduced delta coherence in the temporal regions was also found.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that ADHD children with excess beta power have an underlying brain dysfunction in the frontal lobes which is found in common with children with the typical EEG profile. However a number of qualitative differences exist which could be associated with other aspects of the ADHD diagnosis or another comorbid condition.
Significance:
This is the first study to investigate EEG coherence in ADHD children who have increased beta power.
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