Lifespan associations of resting-state brain functional networks with ADHD symptoms

TL;DR

This study investigates how resting-state brain networks relate to ADHD symptoms across different ages, revealing distinct and shared neural mechanisms for hyperactivity and inattention in children and adults.

Contribution

It introduces a lifespan perspective on ADHD-related brain network changes using the NSP approach, highlighting shared neural bases for symptoms across ages.

Findings

ADHD shows quadratic lifespan associations in brain networks.

Limbic system predicts hyperactivity; attention system predicts inattention.

Shared neural mechanisms for ADHD symptoms in children and adults.

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasingly being diagnosed in both children and adults, but the neural mechanisms that underlie its distinct symptoms and whether children and adults share the same mechanism remain poorly understood. Here, we used a nested-spectral partition (NSP) approach to study the resting-state brain functional networks of ADHD patients (n=97) and healthy controls (HCs, n=97) across the lifespan (7-50 years). Compared to the linear lifespan associations of brain functional segregation and integration with age in HCs, ADHD patients have a quadratic association in the whole brain and in most functional systems, whereas the limbic system dominantly affected by ADHD has a linear association. Furthermore, the limbic system better predicts hyperactivity, and the salient attention system better predicts inattention. These predictions are shared in children and adults with ADHD. Our findings reveal a lifespan association of brain networks with ADHD symptoms and provide potential shared neural bases of distinct ADHD symptoms in children and adults.