title: Inattention and Reaction Time Variability Are Linked to Ventromedial Prefrontal Volume in Adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neuroimaging studies of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have most commonly reported volumetric abnormalities in the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortices. Few studies have examined the relationship between ADHD symptomatology and brain structure in population-based samples. We investigated the relationship between dimensional measures of ADHD symptomatology, brain structure, and reaction time variability-an index of lapses in attention. We also tested for associations between brain structural correlates of ADHD symptomatology and maps of dopaminergic gene expression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychopathology and imaging data were available for 1538 youths. Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms were obtained using the Development and Well-Being Assessment and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Self-reports of ADHD symptoms were assessed using the youth version of the SDQ. Reaction time variability was available in a subset of participants. For each measure, whole-brain voxelwise regressions with gray matter volume were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms (Development and Well-Being Assessment and SDQ), adolescent self-reports of ADHD symptoms on the SDQ, and reaction time variability were each negatively associated with gray matter volume in an overlapping region of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Maps of DRD1 and DRD2 gene expression were associated with brain structural correlates of ADHD symptomatology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to reveal relationships between ventromedial prefrontal cortex structure and multi-informant measures of ADHD symptoms in a large population-based sample of adolescents. Our results indicate that ventromedial prefrontal cortex structure is a biomarker for ADHD symptomatology. These findings extend previous research implicating the default mode network and dopaminergic dysfunction in ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont. Electronic address: malbaugh@uvm.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Albaugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Bader
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chaarani
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Althoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Allgaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: D'Alberto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Kelsey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Spechler
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Banaschewski
authors.affiliation: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin.
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brühl
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin.
authors.forename: Arun L W
authors.initials: ALW
authors.lastname: Bokde
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg.
authors.forename: Uli
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bromberg
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Büchel
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cattrell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Conrod
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sylvane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desrivières
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Fac ulty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim.
authors.forename: Herta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Flor
authors.affiliation: Neurospin, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, CEA Saclay Center, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Frouin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hamburg.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallinat
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Penny
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gowland
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Fac ulty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Grimmer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heinz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin.
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kappel
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unit 1000 Neuroimaging and Psychiatry, University Paris Sud, University Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité and Maison de Solenn, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martinot
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unit 1000 Neuroimaging and Psychiatry, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, Orsay, University Paris Sud, University Paris Saclay, Orsay, and Maison De Solenn, University Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Department of Adolescent Psychopathology and Medicine, Maison De Solenn, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Laure
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Paillère Martinot
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Fac ulty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim.
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nees
authors.affiliation: Neurospin, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, CEA Saclay Center, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Dimitri Papadopoulos
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Orfanos
authors.affiliation: Medical School, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Jani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penttila
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim.
authors.forename: Luise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poustka
authors.affiliation: Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paus
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Smolka
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Fac ulty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim.
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Struve
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gunter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garavan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Alexandra S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Potter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Inattention; Multi-informant; Neuroimaging; Reaction time variability; Ventromedial prefrontal cortex