Dopamine transporter genotype modulates brain activity during a working memory task in children with ADHD
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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Using Brain Activation nir-HEG/Q-EEG and Execution Measures CPTs in a ADHD Assessment Protocol
Published on: April 1, 2018
Guillaume Pineau1, Thomas Villemonteix2, Hichem Slama3
1GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences (CMME, Hôpital Sainte-Anne), 1 rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris, France; INSERM U1266 (Team 1, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris), Paris, France.
Abstract:
Dopamine active transporter gene (DAT1) is a candidate gene associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The DAT1 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR)-3' polymorphism is functional and 9R carriers have been shown to produce more DAT than 10R homozygotes. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the effects of this polymorphism on the neural substrates of working memory (WM) in a small but selected population of children with ADHD, naïve of any psychotropic treatment and without comorbidity. MRI and genotype data were obtained for 36 children (mean age: 10,36 +/- 1,49 years) with combined-type ADHD (9R n = 15) and 25 typically developing children (TDC) (mean age: 9,55 +/- 1,25 years) (9R n = 12). WM performance was similar between conditions. We found a cross-over interaction effect between gene (9R vs. 10R) and diagnosis (TDC vs. ADHD) in the orbito-frontal gyrus, cerebellum and inferior temporal lobe. In these areas, WM-related activity was higher for 9R carriers in ADHD subjects and lower in TDC. In ADHD children only, 10R homozygotes exhibited higher WM-related activity than 9R carriers in a network encompassing the parietal and the temporal lobes, the ventral visual cortex, the orbito-frontal gyrus and the head of the caudate nucleus. There was no significant results in TDC group. Our preliminary findings suggest that DAT1 VNTR polymorphism can modulate WM-related brain activity ADHD children.
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