B - 01 Children with ADHD Demonstrate Cortical Thinning in Multiple Regions Compared to TD Controls.

Abstract

Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate functional and volumetric differences compared to typically developing (TD) children. These regions are associated with the deficits commonly seen in ADHD. However, there is limited research on cortical thickness in ADHD, and what does exist is inconsistent in its findings. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine potential differences in cortical thickness between children with ADHD and TD controls. Participants included 73 children (aged 8-12years; 50.7% boys, 87.7% White) with ADHD and typically developing controls. It was a community sample. The children completed an MRI scan and a neuropsychological battery as part of a larger, grant-funded project (R03HD048752, R15HD065627). Group differences in cortical thickness were determined using CAT12 software. A t-test model was used for voxel-wise comparisons of cortical thickness between children with ADHD and TD controls. After aligning the MRI scans, the CAT12 software provides clusters of regions in which cortical thickness differs significantly between groups. Compared with TD controls, children with ADHD demonstrated reduced cortical thickness in three clusters in the left hemisphere and one large cluster in the right hemisphere (p < 0.05; FWE corrected). The clusters included several frontal and parietal regions, along with occipital and temporal regions. Results are consistent with findings from prior research comparing children with ADHD and TD controls using other neuroimaging methods, which displayed involvement of frontal-parietal and/or frontal-temporal networks. Furthermore, these regions are associated with cognitive and behavioral deficits commonly seen in ADHD, including various aspects of executive dysfunction.