title: Exploratory analysis of diffusion tensor imaging in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: evidence of abnormal white matter structure.
abstract: Abnormalities in the white matter microstructure of the attentional system have been implicated in the aetiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a promising magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology that has increasingly been used in studies of white matter microstructure in the brain. The main objective of this work was to perform an exploratory analysis of white matter tracts in a sample of children with ADHD versus typically developing children (TDC). For this purpose, 13 drug-naive children with ADHD of both genders underwent MRI using DTI acquisition methodology and tract-based spatial statistics. The results were compared to those of a sample of 14 age- and gender-matched TDC. Lower fractional anisotropy was observed in the splenium of the corpus callosum, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, bilateral retrolenticular part of the internal capsule, bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, left external capsule and posterior thalamic radiation (including right optic radiation). We conclude that white matter tracts in attentional and motor control systems exhibited signs of abnormal microstructure in this sample of drug-naive children with ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Bruno Lobo, 50, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil. giuseppe.pastura@ippmg.ufrj.br.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pastura
authors.affiliation: CDPI Neuroimaging, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Doering
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emerson Leandro
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gasparetto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mattos
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Bruno Lobo, 50, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandra Prüfer
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Araújo
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059906:Neuroimaging; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Diffusion tensor imaging; Fractional anisotropy; White matter