Alterations in the functional anatomy of working memory in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
OBJECTIVE
The authors used a functional neuroimaging study with a working memory probe to investigate the pathophysiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their goal was to compare regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes related to working memory in adults with and without ADHD.


METHODS
Using [(15)O]H(2)O positron emission tomography (PET) studies, the authors compared the sites of neural activation related to working memory in six adult men diagnosed with ADHD and six healthy men without ADHD who were matched in age and general intelligence.


RESULTS
Task-related changes in rCBF in the men without ADHD were more prominent in the frontal and temporal regions, but rCBF changes in men with ADHD were more widespread and primarily located in the occipital regions.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest the use of compensatory mental and neural strategies by subjects with ADHD in response to a disrupted ability to inhibit attention to nonrelevant stimuli and the use of internalized speech to guide behavior.
Schweitzer
J B
JB
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. jschweit@mprc.umaryland.edu
Faber
T L
TL
Grafton
S T
ST
Tune
L E
LE
Hoffman
J M
JM
Kilts
C D
CD
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D010104:Oxygen Radioisotopes; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014867:Water
D010104:Oxygen Radioisotopes; D014867:Water