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. 1998 Nov 24;95(24):14494-9.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.24.14494.

Selective effects of methylphenidate in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a functional magnetic resonance study

C J Vaidya  1 , G Austin, G Kirkorian, H W Ridlehuber, J E Desmond, G H Glover, J D Gabrieli
Affiliations

Selective effects of methylphenidate in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a functional magnetic resonance study

C J Vaidya et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Functional MRI revealed differences between children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and healthy controls in their frontal-striatal function and its modulation by methylphenidate during response inhibition. Children performed two go/no-go tasks with and without drug. ADHD children had impaired inhibitory control on both tasks. Off-drug frontal-striatal activation during response inhibition differed between ADHD and healthy children: ADHD children had greater frontal activation on one task and reduced striatal activation on the other task. Drug effects differed between ADHD and healthy children: The drug improved response inhibition in both groups on one task and only in ADHD children on the other task. The drug modulated brain activation during response inhibition on only one task: It increased frontal activation to an equal extent in both groups. In contrast, it increased striatal activation in ADHD children but reduced it in healthy children. These results suggest that ADHD is characterized by atypical frontal-striatal function and that methylphenidate affects striatal activation differently in ADHD than in healthy children.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Characteristics of scan design and response inhibition tasks.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of errors of commission during no-go blocks in control and ADHD children as a function of MPH.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of active pixels in the striatum in control and ADHD children during response inhibition as a function of MPH.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of active pixels in frontal lobe gyri in control and ADHD children during response inhibition on the stimulus-controlled go/no-go task as a function of MPH.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percentage of active pixels in frontal lobe gyri in control and ADHD children during response inhibition on the response-controlled go/no-go task as a function of MPH.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Activation during response inhibition on the stimulus-controlled task in a coronal slice located 12 mm anterior to the anterior commissure for an ADHD and a control child. Green squares highlight the opposite effect of MPH in the head of the caudate and putamen in the ADHD and control child.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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