Dataset Information

What to expect and when to expect it: an fMRI study of expectancy in children with ADHD symptoms.

ABSTRACT: Changes in cognitive control and timing have both been implicated in ADHD. Both are involved in building and monitoring expectations about the environment, and altering behavior if those expectations are violated. In ADHD, problems with expectations about future events have high face validity, as this would be associated with behavior that is inappropriate only given a certain context, similar to symptoms of the disorder. In this fMRI study, we used a timing manipulated go/nogo task to assess brain activity related to expectations about what (cognitive control) and when (timing) events would occur. We hypothesized that problems in building expectations about the environment are a more general, trans-diagnostic characteristic of children with hyperactive, impulsive and inattentive symptoms. To address this, we included children with ASD and symptoms of ADHD, in addition to children with ADHD and typically developing children. We found between-group differences in brain activity related to expectations about when (timing), but not what events will occur (cognitive control). Specifically, we found timing-related hypo-activity that was in part unique to children with a primary diagnosis of ADHD (left pallidum) and in part shared by children with similar levels of ADHD symptoms and a primary diagnosis of ASD (left subthalamic nucleus). Moreover, we found poorer task performance related to timing, but only in children with ASD and symptoms of ADHD. Ultimately, such neurobiological changes in children with ADHD symptoms may relate to a failure to build or monitor expectations and thereby hinder the efficiency of their interaction with the environment.

SUBMITTER: van Hulst BM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5394180 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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What to expect and when to expect it: an fMRI study of expectancy in children with ADHD symptoms.

van Hulst Branko M BM de Zeeuw Patrick P Rijks Yvonne Y Neggers Sebastiaan F W SFW Durston Sarah S

European child & adolescent psychiatry 20161201 5

Changes in cognitive control and timing have both been implicated in ADHD. Both are involved in building and monitoring expectations about the environment, and altering behavior if those expectations are violated. In ADHD, problems with expectations about future events have high face validity, as this would be associated with behavior that is inappropriate only given a certain context, similar to symptoms of the disorder. In this fMRI study, we used a timing manipulated go/nogo task to assess br ...[more]

PMID: 27904952

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Project description:This study investigated the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology in preschool-aged children who were born very preterm (<33 weeks) and cognitive outcomes, clinical risk and socio-demographic characteristics. 119 very preterm children who participated in the Evaluation of Preterm Imaging Study at term-equivalent age were assessed at a mean age of 4.5 years. Parents completed the ADHD Rating Scale IV, a norm-referenced checklist that evaluates ADHD symptomatology according to diagnostic criteria, and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool version. Children completed the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence and the Forward Digit Span task. Longitudinal data including perinatal clinical, qualitative MRI classification, socio-demographic variables and neurodevelopmental disabilities were investigated in relation to ADHD symptomatology. All results were corrected for multiple comparisons using false discovery rate. Results showed that although the proportion of very preterm children with clinically significant ADHD did not differ from normative data after excluding those with neurodevelopmental disabilities, 32.7% met criteria for subthreshold ADHD inattentive type and 33.6% for combined type, which was higher than the expected 20% in normative samples. Higher ADHD symptom scores (all) were associated with greater executive dysfunction (inhibitory self-control, flexibility, and emergent metacognition, corrected p<0.001 for all tests). Higher inattentive ADHD symptom scores were associated with lower IQ (ρ = -0.245, p = 0.011) and higher perinatal clinical risk (more days on mechanical ventilation (ρ = 0.196, p = 0.032) and more days on parenteral nutrition (ρ = 0.222, p = 0.015). Higher hyperactive ADHD symptom scores instead were associated with lower socio-economic status (ρ = 0.259, p = 0.004). These results highlight the importance of monitoring and supporting the development of very preterm children throughout the school years, as subthreshold ADHD symptoms represent risk factors for psychosocial problems and for receiving a future clinical diagnosis of ADHD.

Dataset Information

What to expect and when to expect it: an fMRI study of expectancy in children with ADHD symptoms.

Publications

What to expect and when to expect it: an fMRI study of expectancy in children with ADHD symptoms.

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