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Neurodevelopmental variations cascading from age 10 months to 3 years leading to attention-deficit hyperactivity

Kenji J Tsuchiya1,2, Nagahide Takahashi1,2,3, Yoko Nomura1,4,5,6

  • 1Research Center for Child Mental Development Hamamatsu University School of Medicine Hamamatsu Japan.

JCPP Advances
|June 15, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Early neurodevelopmental variations, including visual-motor skills for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and gross motor skills for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emerge before age one.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental neuroscience
  • Pediatric psychology
  • Behavioral genetics

Background:

  • Neurodevelopmental delays often precede diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  • The precise timing of these early neurodevelopmental variations in relation to ADHD and ASD emergence remains unclear.
  • Investigating early developmental trajectories is crucial for understanding the origins of these neurodevelopmental disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the earliest signs of neurodevelopmental variation.
  • To determine specific neurodevelopmental variations (10 months to 3 years) associated with ADHD and ASD traits at age 9.
  • To explore the emergence of parentally reported behavioral traits related to ADHD and ASD.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort (HBC Study) from birth to age 9.
  • Neurodevelopmental assessment using Mullen Scales of Early Learning at multiple time points (10-40 months).
  • Structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze associations between early neurodevelopmental scores and ADHD/ASD traits at age 9.

Main Results:

  • ADHD traits showed associations with visual reception scores before age 1 and fine motor/receptive language scores between ages 1-2.
  • ASD traits were linked to gross motor scores before age 1 and expressive language scores between 1.5 and 3 years.
  • 836 children were analyzed, with distinct neurodevelopmental patterns identified for ADHD and ASD traits.

Conclusions:

  • Suboptimal visual-motor coordination may indicate ADHD traits.
  • A progression of suboptimalities from gross motor to language domains may indicate ASD traits.
  • Distinct neurodevelopmental variations associated with ADHD and ASD are detectable before age 1.
Abstract

Keywords:
Birth Cohortattention deficit hyperactivity disorderautism spectrum disorderdevelopmental coordination disorderintellectual developmental disorderneurodevelopment

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