title: Brain volumetric correlates of autism spectrum disorder symptoms in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms frequently occur in subjects with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While there is evidence that both ADHD and ASD have differential structural correlates, no study to date has investigated these structural correlates within a framework that robustly accounts for the phenotypic overlap between the two disorders. The presence of ASD symptoms was measured by the parent-reported Children's Social and Behavioural Questionnaire (CSBQ) in ADHD subjects (n = 180), their unaffected siblings (n = 118) and healthy controls (n = 146). ADHD symptoms were assessed by a structured interview (K-SADS-PL) and the Conners' ADHD questionnaires. Whole brain T1-weighted MPRAGE images were acquired and the structural MRI correlates of ASD symptom scores were analysed by modelling ASD symptom scores against white matter (WM) and grey matter (GM) volumes using mixed effects models which controlled for ADHD symptom levels. ASD symptoms were significantly elevated in ADHD subjects relative to both controls and unaffected siblings. ASD scores were predicted by the interaction between WM and GM volumes. Increasing ASD score was associated with greater GM volume. Equivocal results from previous structural studies in ADHD and ASD may be due to the fact that comorbidity has not been taken into account in studies to date. The current findings stress the need to account for issues of ASD comorbidity in ADHD.
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Laurence
authors: L
authors: O'Dwyer
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Colby
authors: C
authors: Tanner
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Eelco V
authors: EV
authors: van Dongen
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; King's College London, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom.
authors: Corina U
authors: CU
authors: Greven
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Janita
authors: J
authors: Bralten
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Marcel P
authors: MP
authors: Zwiers
authors: Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Franke
authors: Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Jaap
authors: J
authors: Oosterlaan
authors: Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Dirk
authors: D
authors: Heslenfeld
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Pieter
authors: P
authors: Hoekstra
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Catharina A
authors: CA
authors: Hartman
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Nanda
authors: N
authors: Rommelse
authors: Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Jan K
authors: JK
authors: Buitelaar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D009929:Organ Size; D035781:Siblings; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology