Grey matter volume differences associated with gender in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A voxel-based morphometry study

Abstract

Female participants have been underrepresented in previous structural magnetic resonance imaging reports on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we used optimized voxel-based morphometry to examine grey matter volumes in a sample of 33 never-medicated children with combined-type ADHD and 27 typically developing (TD) children. We found a gender-by-diagnosis interaction effect in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), whereby boys with ADHD exhibited reduced volumes compared with TD boys, while girls with ADHD showed increased volumes when compared with TD girls. Considering the key role played by the ventral ACC in emotional regulation, we discuss the potential contribution of these alterations to gender-specific symptoms' profiles in ADHD.

Anomalous Brain Development Is Evident in Preschoolers With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…Furthermore, early anomalous brain development is associated with ADHD symptoms. Notably, however, volumetric differences in anterior cingulate cortex reported in older children with ADHD (Dirlikov et al, 2015; Villemonteix et al, 2015) were not observed in this sample. Additionally, although between-group differences in SMC were found bilaterally, only the right SMC and left FEF showed consistent associations with ADHD symptomatology; together, these findings suggest a dynamic unfolding of functional associations over time.…”

Global and local grey matter reductions in boys with ADHD combined type and ADHD inattentive type

“…Results from the ROI analysis should be considered complementary to the VBM approach. While VBM is superior to an ROI method in detecting focal morphological differences, theoretically, ROI methods are more favorable when between-group differences are distributed homogeneously over an ROI (Villemonteix et al, 2015).…”

“…Investigations in paediatric ADHD with larger samples (n >20) have reported grey matter reductions in the bilateral caudate and cerebellum (Yang et al, 2008), predominantly right-sided frontal-pallidal-parietal regions (McAlonan et al, 2007), bilateral frontal and cerebellar regions (Carmona et al, 2005), left dorsolateral/ precentral prefrontal cortex (PFC) (Stevens and Haney-Caron, 2012) as well as no differences compared to typically developing control participants (Villemonteix et al, 2015). Inconsistencies across studies may be explained by differences in sample characteristics (medication status, age, gender ratios, comorbid conditions) or the structural neuroimaging methodology used.…”

Disorder‐Specific Alteration in White Matter Structural Property in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder Relative to Adults With ADHD and Adult Controls

“…An earlier metaanalysis suggests that adults with ADHD have less extensive regions of brain structural abnormality than ADHD children [Frodl and Skokauskas, 2012]. Other explanations of this negative finding may involve sex/gender impacts [Villemonteix et al, 2015], in-scanner head motion [Koldewyn et al, 2014], sample size, and medication effects [Lin et al, 2014a]. Other explanations of this negative finding may involve sex/gender impacts [Villemonteix et al, 2015], in-scanner head motion [Koldewyn et al, 2014], sample size, and medication effects [Lin et al, 2014a].…”

“…Other explanations of this negative finding may involve sex/gender impacts [Villemonteix et al, 2015], in-scanner head motion [Koldewyn et al, 2014], sample size, and medication effects [Lin et al, 2014a]. Sex/gender-specific differences in grey matter volume [Villemonteix et al, 2015] and surface area [Dirlikov et al, 2015] have been reported between boys and girls with ADHD. Sex/gender-specific differences in grey matter volume [Villemonteix et al, 2015] and surface area [Dirlikov et al, 2015] have been reported between boys and girls with ADHD.…”