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Distinct structural brain network properties in children with familial versus non-familial
Rahman Baboli1, Meng Cao1, Elizabeth Martin2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA.
Insights
Familial attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) shows distinct brain network alterations compared to non-familial ADHD. These findings suggest unique neuropathological substrates in children with a hereditary background of ADHD.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
Background:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common, heritable neurodevelopmental disorder with varied presentations.
- Familial ADHD suggests potential distinct neuropathological underpinnings affecting cognitive control pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gray matter structural brain network topology in children with familial ADHD (ADHD-F), non-familial ADHD (ADHD-NF), and controls.
- To identify familial-specific alterations in brain networks associated with ADHD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized graph theory to construct gray matter structural brain networks from 452 participants (ADHD-F, ADHD-NF, controls).
- Analyzed nodal global and local efficiencies, and nodal strength in specific brain regions.
- Controlled for confounding factors using regression analysis.
Main Results:
- Both ADHD-F and ADHD-NF groups exhibited higher nodal efficiencies in the left caudal middle frontal gyrus compared to controls.
- ADHD-F group showed distinct network patterns in the right precuneus, left paracentral gyrus, and left putamen compared to controls and ADHD-NF.
- These distinct patterns included significantly higher nodal global efficiency and nodal strength in specific regions for ADHD-F.
Conclusions:
- Provides the first evidence of familial-specific structural brain network alterations in ADHD.
- These alterations may underlie distinct clinical symptoms and developmental trajectories in children with familial ADHD.
- Highlights the importance of considering familial background in understanding ADHD neuropathology.
Abstract:
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most prevalent, inheritable, and heterogeneous childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorders. Children with a hereditary background of ADHD have heightened risk of having ADHD and persistent impairment symptoms into adulthood. These facts suggest distinct familial-specific neuropathological substrates in ADHD that may exist in anatomical components subserving attention and cognitive control processing pathways during development. The objective of this study is to investigate the topological properties of the gray matter (GM) structural brain networks in children with familial ADHD (ADHD-F), non-familial ADHD (ADHD-NF), as well as matched controls. A total of 452 participants were involved, including 132, 165 and 155 in groups of ADHD-F, ADHD-NF and typically developed children, respectively. The GM structural brain network was constructed for each group using graph theoretical techniques with cortical and subcortical structures as nodes and correlations between volume of each pair of the nodes within each group as edges, while controlled for confounding factors using regression analysis. Relative to controls, children in both ADHD-F and ADHD-NF groups showed significantly higher nodal global and nodal local efficiencies in the left caudal middle frontal gyrus. Compared to controls and ADHD-NF, children with ADHD-F showed distinct structural network topological patterns associated with right precuneus (significantly higher nodal global efficiency and significantly higher nodal strength), left paracentral gyrus (significantly higher nodal strength and trend toward significantly higher nodal local efficiency) and left putamen (significantly higher nodal global efficiency and trend toward significantly higher nodal local efficiency). Our results for the first time in the field provide evidence of familial-specific structural brain network alterations in ADHD, that may contribute to distinct clinical/behavioral symptomology and developmental trajectories in children with ADHD-F.
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