Functional connectivity of neural motor networks is disrupted in children with developmental coordination disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prevalent childhood disorders that frequently co-occur. Evidence from neuroimaging research suggests that children with these disorders exhibit disruptions in motor circuitry, which could account for the high rate of co-occurrence. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the functional connections of the motor network in children with DCD and/or ADHD compared to typically developing controls, with the aim of identifying common neurophysiological substrates. Resting-state fMRI was performed on seven children with DCD, 21 with ADHD, 18 with DCD + ADHD and 23 controls. Resting-state connectivity of the primary motor cortex was compared between each group and controls, using age as a co-factor. Relative to controls, children with DCD and/or ADHD exhibited similar reductions in functional connectivity between the primary motor cortex and the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, right supramarginal gyrus, angular gyri, insular cortices, amygdala, putamen, and pallidum. In addition, children with DCD and/or ADHD exhibited different age-related patterns of connectivity, compared to controls. These findings suggest that children with DCD and/or ADHD exhibit disruptions in motor circuitry, which may contribute to problems with motor functioning and attention. Our results support the existence of common neurophysiological substrates underlying both motor and attention problems.

Inter-hemispherical asymmetry in default-mode functional connectivity and BAIAP2 gene are associated with anger expression in ADHD adults

“…Functional deficits of the ventral attentional network (including the supramarginal and angular gyri) are well known in ADHD (Helenius et al, 2011;Cortese et al, 2012;McCarthy et al, 2013;McLeod et al, 2014) and right-ward hyperactivation of the angular gyrus (Cortese et al, 2012) and a left-ward hypoactivation of the ventral attention system (McCarthy et al, 2013) were previously observed in ADHD adults and could be in line with our connectivity results.…”

Motor development of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…Recent findings have suggested an existence of common neurophysiological substrates underlying both motor and attention problems. 20 The present study also revealed statistically significant differences between the groups for most motor quotients assessed: fine and global motricity, balance, body schema, and spatial and temporal organization. Motor quotients for each domain demonstrated that typically developing children performed within the normal medium range, except for spatial organization.…”

Coordination difficulty and internalizing symptoms in adults: A twin/sibling study

“…The results suggest a combination of biological and shared environmental pathways linking coordination difficulty, anxiety and depression. One tentative suggestion for a potential biological mechanism which has been implicated in DCD (McLeod et al, 2014;Zwicker et al, 2010), and in both anxiety (Terasawa et al, 2012) and depression (Sprengelmeyer et al, 2011), is the atypical volume and functioning of the insular cortex (IC). The IC is central to processing information about the physiological state of the body, monitoring sensations and connecting to other systems, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, to allocate attention towards particular stimuli and to plan appropriate actions (Paulus and Stein, 2006).…”