Characteristics of resting-state functional connectivity in male adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Objective To explore the characteristics of resting-state functional connectivity in male adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the relationship with clinical symptoms. Method Forty-seven male adult ADHD patients diagnosed by DSM-Ⅳ-TR and 47 healthy controls matched with sex, age and IQ were enrolled by clinical interviews. All subjects underwent structural MRI scan and resting-state functional MRI scan. All subjects were rated the ADHD symptom severity with the ADHD symptom rating scale. A two independent-samples t-test was used to analyze the differences of the resting-state functional connectivity strength (FCS) between the male adult ADHD group and the healthy control group. Results Compared with healthy controls, adult ADHD patients had shown the reduced FCS in the right middle temporal gyrus(t=-3.42), inferior temporal gyrus (t=-3.32), right middle occipital gyrus (t=-3.11) and inferior occipital gyrus (t=-4.44,P<0.05 after multiple correction). The FCS of right inferior occipital gyrus in ADHD group had a tendency to negatively correlated with the severity of symptoms (r=-0.403, P<0.05). A trend of negative correlation between the FCS in the right inferior occipital gyrus in ADHD group and the attention deficit score was found (r=-0.507, P<0.05). Conclusion Abnormalities in resting-state brain function connectivity are prominent in male adult ADHD patients. Occipitallobe dysfunction may be more related to the severity of the ADHD symptoms. Temporal lobe and occipital lobe seem to be crucial to the pathogenesis of adult male ADHD. Key words: Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity; Magnetic resonance imaging; Adult; Functional connectivity