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. 2012 Jan;51(1):18-27.e2.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2011.09.022. Epub 2011 Nov 25.

Decreased regional cortical thickness and thinning rate are associated with inattention symptoms in healthy children

Simon Ducharme  1 , James J Hudziak, Kelly N Botteron, Matthew D Albaugh, Tuong-Vi Nguyen, Sherif Karama, Alan C Evans; Brain Development Cooperative Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Decreased regional cortical thickness and thinning rate are associated with inattention symptoms in healthy children

Simon Ducharme et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: 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.

Method: Data from 357 healthy subjects (6.0-18.4 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.

Results: 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 (6-10 years of age) that gradually disappeared over time secondary to slower cortical thinning. Similar trends were present in longitudinal analyses.

Conclusions: 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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Drs. Ducharme and Nguyen receive financial support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research with a Master’s Award: Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship. Dr. Hudziak has received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease. He serves as a consultant to Erasmus University in Rotterdam and Avera Institute of Human Behavioral Genetics in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dr. Botteron has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, NIMH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Behavior, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Communities Healing Adolescent Depression and Suicide Foundation, the McDonnell Foundation, the Simons Foundation, and Autism Speaks. Dr. Karama has received funding from the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec. Dr. Evans is the founder and director of Biospective Inc. He serves as a consultant and receives stock options and licensing fees from the company. Dr. Albaugh reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Brain areas where local cortical thickness is associated with the “Child Behavior Checklist Attention Problems by Age” interaction in the cross-sectional analysis (n = 257). Note: The figure is shown at q ≤ 0.05 with a false discovery rate correction. Controlled for age, gender, total brain volume, and scanner.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
t Scores map (df = 246) of the association between Child Behavior Checklist Attention Problems and cortical thickness centered from age 6 to 18 years in the cross-sectional sample (n = 257). Note: The brain is shown from below, and the main association is located in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Controlled for age, gender, total brain volume, and scanner.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Scatterplots of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortical thickness against Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Attention Problems raw scores in subjects less than age 10 on the left and of 10 years and older subjects on the right. Note: The negative relationship on the left scatterplot remained significant even when removing the outlier (subject with cortical thickness below 1 standard deviation).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Brain areas where local cortical thickness is associated with the “Child Behavior Checklist Attention Problems by Age” interaction in a mixed-effects linear regression in the longitudinal sample (n = 357, 672 scans). Note: The figure is shown at p ≤.005 (uncorrected). Trends of associations were not statistically significant after a whole-brain false discovery rate correction. Controlled for age, gender, total brain volume, and scanner.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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