Abnormal resting-state functional connectivity patterns of the putamen in medication-naïve children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Published in: Brain research 2009-11, Vol.1303, p.195-206
• Main Authors: Cao, Xiaohua, Cao, Qingjiu, Long, Xiangyu, Sun, Li, Sui, Manqiu, Zhu, Chaozhe, Zuo, Xinian, Zang, Yufeng, Wang, Yufeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - pathology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Basal Ganglia Diseases - etiology; Basal Ganglia Diseases - pathology; Basal Ganglia Diseases - physiopathology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - pathology; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Cerebellum - pathology; Cerebellum - physiopathology; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Child; Child clinical studies; Cohort Studies; Female; Functional connectivity; Functional Laterality - physiology; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Limbic System - pathology; Limbic System - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Nerve Net - pathology; Nerve Net - physiopathology; Neural Pathways - pathology; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; Neurology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Putamen; Resting state; Thalamus - pathology; Thalamus - physiopathology
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.08.029

Abstract Structural and functional alterations of the putamen have been reported in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the functional relationships between this area and other brain regions are seldom explored. In the present study, seed-based correlation analyses were performed in the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to examine the differences in functional connectivity of the putamen between medication-naïve children with ADHD and normal children. Positive functional connectivity with the putamen-ROIs was seen in bilateral sensorimotor area, prefrontal cortex, insula, superior temporal gyrus and subcortical regions and negative functional connectivity was located in bilateral parietal and occipital cortex as well as clusters in the frontal, middle temporal cortex and cerebellum. Group comparison showed that decreases in functional connectivity with the putamen-ROIs were observed in ADHD relative to the controls, except for the right globus pallidus/thalamus, which showed increased positive connectivity with left putamen-ROI. For children with ADHD, areas exhibiting decreased positive functional connectivity with left putamen-ROI were seen in right frontal and limbic regions, and regions showing decreased negative connectivity with the putamen-ROIs were observed in areas belonging to the default mode network (for left putamen-ROI, including right cerebellum and right temporal lobe; for right putamen-ROI, including left cerebellum and right precuneus). The above results suggest that abnormal functional relationships between the putamen and the cortical–striatal–thalamic circuits as well as the default mode network may underlie the pathological basis of ADHD.