Grey matter volumes in treatment naïve vs. chronically treated children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a combined approach.
Psychostimulants are the first-line treatment in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but their effects on brain development remain poorly understood. In particular, previous structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) studies only investigated treatment effects on grey matter (GM) volumes in selected regions of interest (ROIs). In this study, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to assess medication-related GM volume differences across the entire brain. Automated tracing measurements of selected ROIs were also obtained. Three groups (77 participants aged 7-to-13 year old) underwent MRI scans and were compared: never-medicated children with ADHD (n=33), medicated (methylphenidate) children with ADHD (n=20) and typically developing children (TD; n=24). Optimised VBM was used to investigate regional GM volumes, controlling for age and gender. Automated tracing procedures were also used to assess the average volume of the caudate nucleus, the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens. When compared to both medicated children with ADHD and TD children, never-medicated children with ADHD exhibited decreased GM volume in the insula and in the middle temporal gyrus. When compared to TD children, medicated children with ADHD had decreased GM volume in the middle frontal gyrus and in the precentral gyrus. Finally, ROI analyses revealed a significant association between duration of treatment and GM volume of the left nucleus accumbens in medicated children with ADHD. In conclusion, this study documents potential methylphenidate-related GM volume normalization and deviation in previously unexplored brain structures, and reports a positive association between treatment history and GM volume in the nucleus accumbens, a key region for reward-processing.
INSERM, U894, 2 ter rue d'Alésia, 75014 Paris, France. Electronic address: t.villemonteix@gmail.com.
Thomas
T
Villemonteix
School of psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TTT.
Stéphane A
SA
De Brito
Department of Radiology, Clinics of Magnetic Resonance, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, UK.
Martin
M
Kavec
Department of Radiology, Clinics of Magnetic Resonance, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, UK.
Danielle
D
Balériaux
Department of Radiology, Clinics of Magnetic Resonance, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, UK.
Thierry
T
Metens
UNESCOG - Research Unit in Cognitive Neurosciences, ULB, Belgium; Department of Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology, Erasme Hospital, 808 Lennik Street, CP601, 1070 Brussels, Belgium; UR2NF - Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
Hichem
H
Slama
UNESCOG - Research Unit in Cognitive Neurosciences, ULB, Belgium; UR2NF - Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
Simon
S
Baijot
UR2NF - Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
Alison
A
Mary
UR2NF - Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium; UNI - ULB Neurosciences Institute, ULB, Belgium.
Philippe
P
Peigneux
UNI - ULB Neurosciences Institute, ULB, Belgium; National Fund of Scientific Research (FNRS), Belgium; INSERM, U894, 2 ter rue d'Alésia, 75014 Paris, France; UR2NF - Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
Isabelle
I
Massat
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); Methylphenidate; Nucleus accumbens; Structural MRI; Voxel-based morphometry