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Cingulate Cortical Thickness and Dopamine Transporter ( DAT1) Genotype in Children and Adolescents With ADHD
Alberto Fernández-Jaén1,2, Jacobo Albert3, Daniel Martín Fernández-Mayoralas1,2
11 Hospital Universitario Quirón, Madrid, Spain.
Objective:
This study aimed to examine the influence of dopamine transporter gene ( DAT1) 3'UTR genotype on cingulate cortical thickness in a large sample of children and adolescents with ADHD.
Method:
Brain MRIs were acquired from 46 ADHD patients with homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele and 52 ADHD patients with a single copy or no copy of the allele. The cingulate cortex of each MRI scan was automatically parceled into sulci and gyri as well as into Brodmann areas (BA).
Results:
There were no group differences in age, gender, full-scale intelligence quotient, symptom severity, treatment status, comorbidity, or mean overall cortical thickness. Sulcus/gyrus- and BA-based analyses revealed that patients homozygous for the 10-repeat allele showed significantly greater thickness in right cingulate gyrus and right BA 24 compared with 9-repeat carriers.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that thickness of cingulate cortex is influenced by the presence of the 10-repeat allele in ADHD.
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