TY - JOUR
T1 - Decreased regional cortical thickness and thinning rate are associated with inattention symptoms in healthy children
AU - Ducharme, Simon
AU - Hudziak, James J.
AU - Botteron, Kelly N.
AU - Albaugh, Matthew D.
AU - Nguyen, Tuong Vi
AU - Karama, Sherif
AU - Evans, Alan C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (contract nos. N01-HD02-3343, N01-MH9-0002, and N01-NS-9-2314, -2315, -2316, -2317, -2319, and -2320).
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have delayed cortical maturation, evidenced by regionally specific slower cortical thinning. However, the relationship between cortical maturation and attention capacities in typically developing children is unknown. This study examines cortical thickness correlates of inattention symptoms in a large sample of healthy children. Data from 357 healthy subjects (6.018.4 years of age) were obtained from the NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development. In cross-sectional analysis (first visit, n = 257), Child Behavior Checklist Attention Problems (AP) scores were linearly regressed against cortical thickness, controlling for age, gender, total brain volume, and site. For longitudinal data (up to three visits, n = 357/672 scans), similar analyses were performed using mixed-effects linear regressions. Interactions of AP with age and gender were tested. A cross-sectional "AP by age" interaction was found in bilateral orbito-frontal cortex, right inferior frontal cortex, bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and several additional attention network regions. The interaction was due to negative associations between AP and thickness in younger subjects (610 years of age) that gradually disappeared over time secondary to slower cortical thinning. Similar trends were present in longitudinal analyses. Higher AP scores were associated with thinner cortex at baseline and slower cortical thinning with aging in multiple areas involved in attention processes. Similar patterns have been identified in ADHD, suggesting a dimensional component to the link between attention and cortical maturation. The identified association between cortical maturation and attention in healthy development will help to inform studies of neuroimaging biomarkers of ADHD.
AB - Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have delayed cortical maturation, evidenced by regionally specific slower cortical thinning. However, the relationship between cortical maturation and attention capacities in typically developing children is unknown. This study examines cortical thickness correlates of inattention symptoms in a large sample of healthy children. Data from 357 healthy subjects (6.018.4 years of age) were obtained from the NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development. In cross-sectional analysis (first visit, n = 257), Child Behavior Checklist Attention Problems (AP) scores were linearly regressed against cortical thickness, controlling for age, gender, total brain volume, and site. For longitudinal data (up to three visits, n = 357/672 scans), similar analyses were performed using mixed-effects linear regressions. Interactions of AP with age and gender were tested. A cross-sectional "AP by age" interaction was found in bilateral orbito-frontal cortex, right inferior frontal cortex, bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and several additional attention network regions. The interaction was due to negative associations between AP and thickness in younger subjects (610 years of age) that gradually disappeared over time secondary to slower cortical thinning. Similar trends were present in longitudinal analyses. Higher AP scores were associated with thinner cortex at baseline and slower cortical thinning with aging in multiple areas involved in attention processes. Similar patterns have been identified in ADHD, suggesting a dimensional component to the link between attention and cortical maturation. The identified association between cortical maturation and attention in healthy development will help to inform studies of neuroimaging biomarkers of ADHD.
KW - Child Behavior Checklist
KW - attention
KW - attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
KW - cortical thickness
KW - magnetic resonance imaging
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=83955162235&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaac.2011.09.022
DO - 10.1016/j.jaac.2011.09.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 22176936
AN - SCOPUS:83955162235
VL - 51
SP - 18-27.e2
JO - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
SN - 0890-8567
IS - 1
ER -