title: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and medication with stimulants in young children: a DTI study.
abstract: The relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and white matter connectivity has not been well established yet, specially for children under 10 years of age. In addition, the effects of treatment on brain structure have not been sufficiently explored from a Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) perspective. In this study, the influence of treatment with methylphenidate in the white matter of children with ADHD was investigated using two different and complementary DTI analysis methods: Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) and a robust tractography selection method. No significant differences were found in Fractional Anisotropy (FA) between medicated, drug-naïve patients and healthy controls, but a reduced Mean Diffusivity (MD) was found in ADHD patients under treatment with respect to both healthy controls and drug-naïve ADHD patients. Also, correlations were found between MD increases and performance indicators of ADHD. These findings may help elucidate the nature of white matter alterations in ADHD, their relationship with symptoms and the effects of treatment with psychostimulants.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), Universidad de Valladolid, Spain. Electronic address: rodlui@tel.uva.es.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Luis-García
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínico Universitario, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cabús-Piñol
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínico Universitario, Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Imaz-Roncero
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Argibay-Quiñones
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barrio-Arranz
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aja-Fernández
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen (LPI), Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alberola-López
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D059906:Neuroimaging; D066127:White Matter / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate
keywords: ADHD; DTI; Geometric tractography selection; TBSS; White matter analysis