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Development of cortical asymmetry in typically developing children and its disruption in

Philip Shaw1, Francois Lalonde, Claude Lepage

  • 1Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. shawp@mail.nih.gov

Archives of General Psychiatry
|August 5, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Brain asymmetry develops differently in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In typical development, frontal and occipital regions show distinct growth, but this pattern is disrupted in ADHD, particularly in the prefrontal cortex.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Brain asymmetry is crucial for typical motor and cognitive function.
  • Disrupted asymmetry is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD.
  • Longitudinal data on cortical asymmetry development is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental trajectory of cortical asymmetry in children.
  • To compare asymmetry development between children with and without ADHD.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal neuroimaging study with 218 children with ADHD and 358 typically developing children.
  • Prospective acquisition of 1133 MRI scans.
  • Mixed-model regression analysis of cortical thickness changes.

Main Results:

  • Typically developing right-handed children show increasing right frontal and left occipital cortical thickness with age.
  • Non-right-handed children exhibit less extensive age-related asymmetry.
  • Children with ADHD retain posterior asymmetry but lack the prefrontal component.

Conclusions:

  • Typical brain development involves emerging adult asymmetry from childhood patterns.
  • Loss of prefrontal asymmetry in ADHD aligns with prefrontal dysfunction.
  • Studying asymmetry development offers insights into neurodevelopmental disorders.
Abstract

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