Distinct Neural Profiles of Frontoparietal Networks in Boys with ADHD and Boys with Persistent Depressive Disorder.

Working memory deficits are common in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression-two common neurodevelopmental disorders with overlapping cognitive profiles but distinct clinical presentation. Multivariate techniques have previously been utilized to understand working memory processes in functional brain networks in healthy adults but have not yet been applied to investigate how working memory processes within the same networks differ within typical and atypical developing populations. We used multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to identify whether brain networks discriminated between spatial versus verbal working memory processes in ADHD and Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD).

Associations of Irritability With Functional Connectivity of Amygdala and Nucleus Accumbens in Adolescents and Young Adults With ADHD.

Objective: Irritability is a common characteristic in ADHD. We examined whether dysfunction in neural connections supporting threat and reward processing was related to irritability in adolescents and young adults with ADHD.

Method: We used resting-state fMRI to assess connectivity of amygdala and nucleus accumbens seeds in those with ADHD ( = 34) and an age- and gender-matched typically-developing comparison group ( = 34).

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity in Childhood Predicts Emotional Memory Effects and Related Neural Circuitry in Adolescent Girls.

Negative emotional experiences can be more difficult to forget than neutral ones, a phenomenon termed the "emotional memory effect." Individual differences in the strength of the emotional memory effect are associated with emotional health. Thus, understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of the emotional memory effect has important implications, especially for individuals at risk for emotional health problems.

Brain structure and parasympathetic function during rest and stress in young adult women.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important biomarker for parasympathetic function and future health outcomes. The present study examined how the structure of regions in a neural network thought to maintain top-down control of parasympathetic function is associated with HRV during both rest and social stress. Participants were 127 young women (90 Black American), who completed a structural MRI scan and the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), during which heart rate was recorded.

Direct replication of task-dependent neural activation patterns during sadness introspection in two independent adolescent samples.

Functional neuroimaging results need to replicate to inform sound models of human social cognition and its neural correlates. Introspection, the capacity to reflect on one's thoughts and feelings, is one process required for normative social cognition and emotional functioning. Engaging in introspection draws on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), middle temporal gyri (MTG), and temporoparietal junction (TPJ).

Girls' pubertal development is associated with white matter microstructure in late adolescence.

Patterns of pubertal maturation have been linked to vulnerability for emotion dysregulation disorders in girls, as well as white matter (WM) development, suggestive of a potential mechanism between pubertal maturation and emotional health. Because pubertal processes begin at varying ages (i.e.

Dorsomedial Prefrontal Activity to Sadness Predicts Later Emotion Suppression and Depression Severity in Adolescent Girls.

The present study used cross-lagged panel analyses to test longitudinal associations among emotion regulation, prefrontal cortex (PFC) function, and depression severity in adolescent girls. The ventromedial and dorsomedial PFC (vmPFC and dmPFC) were regions of interest given their roles in depression pathophysiology, self-referential processing, and emotion regulation. At ages 16 and 17, seventy-eight girls completed a neuroimaging scan to assess changes in vmPFC and dmPFC activation to sad faces, and measures of depressive symptom severity and emotion regulation.

White matter microstructure in boys with persistent depressive disorder.

Background: Persistent depressive symptoms in children and adolescents are considered a risk factor for the development of major depressive disorder (MDD) later in life. Previous research has shown alterations in white matter microstructure in pediatric MDD but discrepancies exist as to the specific tracts affected. The current study aimed to improve upon previous methodology and address the question whether previous findings of lower fractional anisotropy (FA) replicate in a sample of children with persistent depressive disorder characterized by mild but more chronic symptoms of depression.

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

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has reliably been associated with global grey matter reductions but local alterations are largely inconsistent with perhaps the exception of the caudate nucleus. The aim of this study was to examine local and global brain volume differences between typically developing children (TD) and children with a diagnosis of ADHD. We also addressed whether these parameters would differ between children with the ADHD-combined type (ADHD-C) and those with the ADHD-inattentive type (ADHD-I).

Altered structural connectivity in ADHD: a network based analysis.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasingly being viewed as a dysfunction of distributed brain networks rather than focal abnormalities. Here we investigated the structural brain network differences in children and adolescents with ADHD and healthy controls, using graph theory metrics to describe the anatomic networks and connectivity patterns, and the Network Based Statistic (NBS) to isolate the network components that differ between the two groups. Using DWI high-angular resolution diffusion imaging ('HARDI'), whole brain tractography was conducted on 21 ADHD-combined type boys (m 13.

Cortical morphometry in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Contribution of thickness and surface area to volume.

Although lower brain volume is a consistent neuroimaging finding in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we lack an understanding of whether this effect is driven by changes in cortical thickness or surface area, which are governed by distinct neurodevelopmental processes. This study examined ADHD-control differences in cortical thickness, surface area and volume, and tests whether thickness and surface area mediates any observed volume differences. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data was collected from 35 males with ADHD-combined type and 35 typically developing control participants aged 9-17 years.

Abnormal asymmetry in frontostriatal white matter in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A growing body of work utilizing structural and functional brain imaging and neurocognitive measures of executive and attentional function indicates anomalous asymmetry in ADHD. This study examined the white-matter volume and diffusion properties of frontostriatal tracts, as a function of hemisphere, in ADHD and healthy controls. Forty-three young males (21 ADHD-Combined Type and 22 controls) aged 10-18 years underwent structural and diffusion weighted MRI.

Executive function and attention in children and adolescents with depressive disorders: a systematic review.

Numerous studies have shown that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adults is associated with deficits in cognitive control. Particularly, impairment on executive function (EF) tasks has been observed. Research into EF deficits in children and adolescents with MDD has reported mixed results and it is currently unclear whether paediatric MDD is characterised by impairments in EF and attention.

Frontoparietal function in young people with dysthymic disorder (DSM-5: Persistent depressive disorder) during spatial working memory.

Background: Dysthymic disorder (DD) is a depressive disorder characterised by persistent low and/or irritable mood and has been identified as a major risk factor for developing major depressive disorder (MDD). MDD and DD have been associated with executive function difficulties of working memory and attention. Little is known about how executive function networks in the brain are affected in children and adolescents with MDD and even less in DD.