title: Associations of pineal volume, chronotype and symptom severity in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and healthy controls.
abstract: The pineal gland, as part of the human epithalamus, is the main production site of peripheral melatonin, which promotes the modulation of sleep patterns, circadian rhythms and circadian preferences (morningness vs. eveningness). The present study analyses the pineal gland volume (PGV) and its association with circadian preferences and symptom severity in adult ADHD patients compared to healthy controls. PGV was determined manually using high-resolution 3T MRI (T1-magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo) in medication free adult ADHD patients (N=74) compared to healthy controls (N=86). Moreover, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), the ADHD Diagnostic Checklist and the Wender-Utah Rating Scale were conducted. PGV differed between both groups (patients: 59.9±33.8mm(3); healthy controls: 71.4±27.2mm(3), P=0.04). In ADHD patients, more eveningness types were revealed (patients: 29%; healthy controls: 17%; P=0.05) and sum scores of the MEQ were lower (patients: 45.8±11.5; healthy controls 67.2±10.1; P<0.001). Multiple regression analyses indicated a positive correlation of PGV and MEQ scores in ADHD (β=0.856, P=0.003) but not in healthy controls (β=0.054, P=0.688). Patients' MEQ scores (β=-0.473, P=0.003) were negatively correlated to ADHD symptoms. The present results suggest a linkage between the PGV and circadian preference in adults with ADHD and an association of the circadian preference to symptom severity. This may facilitate the development of new chronobiological treatment approaches for the add-on treatment in ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany. Electronic address: jan.bumb@zi-mannheim.de.
authors.forename: Jan Malte
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bumb
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mier
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Noelte
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schredl
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kirsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hennig
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liebrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fenske
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alm
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Franz Markus
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Leweke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Bad Dürkheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sobanski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Eveningness; MEQ; MPRAGE; MRI; Melatonin; Morningness