Task-generic and task-specific connectivity modulations in the ADHD brain: an integrated analysis across multiple tasks

• Published in: Translational psychiatry 2021-03, Vol.11 (1), p.159-159, Article 159
• Main Authors: Chauvin, Roselyne J., Buitelaar, Jan K., Sprooten, Emma, Oldehinkel, Marianne, Franke, Barbara, Hartman, Catharina, Heslenfeld, Dirk J., Hoekstra, Pieter J., Oosterlaan, Jaap, Beckmann, Christian F., Mennes, Maarten
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 59/36; 59/57; 631/378; 631/477; 692/699/476/1311; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Psychology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurosciences; Pharmacotherapy; Psychiatry; Siblings
• ISSN: 2158-3188; 2158-3188
• DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01284-z

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with altered functioning in multiple cognitive domains and neural networks. This paper offers an overarching biological perspective across these. We applied a novel strategy that extracts functional connectivity modulations in the brain across one ( P single ), two ( P mix ) or three ( P all ) cognitive tasks and compared the pattern of modulations between participants with ADHD ( n -89), unaffected siblings ( n  = 93) and controls ( n  = 84; total N  = 266; age range = 8–27 years). Participants with ADHD had significantly fewer P all connections (modulated regardless of task), but significantly more task-specific ( P single ) connectivity modulations than the other groups. The amplitude of these P single modulations was significantly higher in ADHD. Unaffected siblings showed a similar degree of P all connectivity modulation as controls but a similar degree of P single connectivity modulation as ADHD probands. P all connections were strongly reproducible at the individual level in controls, but showed marked heterogeneity in both participants with ADHD and unaffected siblings. The pattern of reduced task-generic and increased task-specific connectivity modulations in ADHD may be interpreted as reflecting a less efficient functional brain architecture due to a reduction in the ability to generalise processing pathways across multiple cognitive domains. The higher amplitude of unique task-specific connectivity modulations in ADHD may index a more “effortful” coping strategy. Unaffected siblings displayed a task connectivity profile in between that of controls and ADHD probands, supporting an endophenotype view. Our approach provides a new perspective on the core neural underpinnings of ADHD.