Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging of white matter microstructure in sensory processing dysfunction with versus without comorbid ADHD

• Published in: Frontiers in neuroscience 2023-07, Vol.17, p.1136424-1136424
• Main Authors: Mark, Ian T, Wren-Jarvis, Jamie, Xiao, Jaclyn, Cai, Lanya T, Parekh, Shalin, Bourla, Ioanna, Lazerwitz, Maia C, Rowe, Mikaela A, Marco, Elysa J, Mukherjee, Pratik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropy; attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Brain research; Caregivers; Children; Corpus callosum; diffusion MRI; Information processing; Magnetic resonance imaging; neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging; Neuroscience; Pathology; Questionnaires; Sensory integration; Sensory perception; sensory processing dysfunction; Statistical analysis; Substantia alba; white matter microstructure
• ISSN: 1662-4548; 1662-453X; 1662-453X
• DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1136424

Sensory Processing Dysfunction (SPD) is common yet understudied, affecting up to one in six children with 40% experiencing co-occurring challenges with attention. The neural architecture of SPD with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (SPD+ADHD) versus SPD without ADHD (SPD-ADHD) has yet to be explored in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) has yet to be examined. The present study computed DTI and NODDI biophysical model parameter maps of one hundred children with SPD. Global, regional and voxel-level white matter tract measures were analyzed and compared between SPD+ADHD and SPD-ADHD groups. SPD+ADHD children had global WM Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and Neurite Density Index (NDI) that trended lower than SPD-ADHD children, primarily in boys only. Data-driven voxelwise and WM tract-based analysis revealed statistically significant decreases of NDI in boys with SPD+ADHD compared to those with SPD-ADHD, primarily in projection tracts of the internal capsule and commissural fibers of the splenium of the corpus callosum. We conclude that WM microstructure is more delayed/disrupted in boys with SPD+ADHD compared to SPD-ADHD, with NODDI showing a larger effect than DTI. This may represent the combined WM pathology of SPD and ADHD, or it may result from a greater degree of SPD WM pathology causing the development of ADHD.