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High-resolution brain SPECT imaging in ADHD
1Amen Clinic for Behavioral Medicine, Fairfield, California 94585, USA.
Summary
Children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) show reduced prefrontal cortex activity during cognitive tasks, similar to previous PET and QEEG findings. This highlights potential brain imaging biomarkers for ADHD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.
- Previous studies using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG) suggested altered brain activity in individuals with ADHD.
- High-resolution brain Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging offers a method to investigate cerebral perfusion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cerebral perfusion patterns in children and adolescents with ADHD using high-resolution SPECT imaging.
- To determine if SPECT findings correlate with previously reported PET and QEEG results in ADHD.
- To compare brain activity between individuals with ADHD and a non-ADHD control group under resting and stress conditions.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-four children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD (DSM-III-R and Conners Rating Scale criteria) underwent two high-resolution SPECT scans: one at rest and one during a concentration task (intellectual stress).
- A control group of non-ADHD participants was also studied using the same SPECT imaging protocol.
- Perfusion levels in the prefrontal cortex were analyzed for both groups under both conditions.
Main Results:
- Sixty-five percent of the ADHD group exhibited decreased prefrontal cortex perfusion during intellectual stress, compared to only 5% in the control group.
- These SPECT findings were consistent with previously reported PET and QEEG data.
- Among the ADHD participants who did not show reduced perfusion during stress, two-thirds displayed markedly decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex at rest.
Conclusions:
- High-resolution SPECT imaging reveals significant differences in prefrontal cortex perfusion between children/adolescents with ADHD and controls, particularly under cognitive demand.
- The findings support the utility of SPECT imaging as a potential biomarker for ADHD, corroborating earlier PET and QEEG studies.
- Altered prefrontal cortex activity, both at rest and under stress, is a characteristic neurobiological feature associated with ADHD in pediatric populations.