Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2025
Using Brain Activation nir-HEG/Q-EEG and Execution Measures CPTs in a ADHD Assessment Protocol
Published on: April 1, 2018
Functional reorganization of brain activity in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence from
Yu Zhu1, Xiangsheng Luo1, Xiaojie Guo1
1Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China.
Insights
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show reduced inferior parietal lobule (IPL) activation. Cognitive demand modulates IPL
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Previous research indicates reduced inferior parietal lobule (IPL) activation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during visuospatial tasks.
- The functional connectivity (FC) of the IPL and its modulation by cognitive demand in ADHD remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate IPL activation and functional connectivity (FC) during visuospatial attention in children with ADHD compared to healthy controls.
- To examine how varying levels of cognitive demand influence IPL's FC in children with ADHD.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed in 44 children with ADHD and 36 healthy controls.
- Participants completed visuospatial attention tasks under low and high cognitive demand conditions.
- IPL activation and FC were analyzed and correlated with clinical measures.
Main Results:
- Children with ADHD exhibited significantly lower IPL activation compared to controls, irrespective of cognitive demand.
- Importantly, functional connectivity between the IPL and the inferior frontal gyrus was modulated by cognitive demand specifically in children with ADHD.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive demand modulates visuospatial attention-related functional connectivity of the IPL in children with ADHD, but not its regional activation.
- These findings suggest brain activity reorganization as a potential compensatory mechanism in ADHD.
Abstract:
Previous studies reported that the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) had lower activation during visuospatial attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while the functional connectivity (FC) between the IPL and other brain regions and how cognitive demand might modulate IPL's FC remain unclear. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment recruiting two task conditions with relatively low and high cognitive demand of visuospatial attention. Forty-four children with ADHD and 36 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. IPL's regional activation and FC intensities were compared between groups and correlated with clinical measurements. We found that the IPL had significantly reduced activation in children with ADHD compared to healthy controls and this abnormal activation was not modulated by the cognitive demand of visuospatial attention. Importantly, further analysis revealed that the functional connectivity between IPL and inferior frontal gyrus was modulated by the cognitive demand of visuospatial attention in children with ADHD. These results revealed a modulatory effect of cognitive demand of visuospatial attention on IPL's functional connectivity but not IPL's activation in children with ADHD. More generally, these results highlight the functional reorganization of the brain activity as a possible compensatory strategy in response to the symptoms of ADHD.
More Related Videos
10:02Event Related Potentials ERPs and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD
Published on: March 12, 2020
12:21Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
