Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
Psychiatry Res. 2012 Feb 28;201(2):168-73. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.005. Epub 2012 Mar 3.
The objective of the present study was to investigate the microstructure and the macrostructure of the corpus callosum (CC) in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twenty-nine participants with ADHD and 37 controls were included from the Norwegian ADHD project in Bergen. We measured the fractional anisotropy (FA) values, as well as the size of different subdivisions of the CC, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and anatomical MRI. The isthmus/splenium part of the CC in the ADHD group showed reduced FA values compared to the control group, whereas the size of the CC did not differ across groups. Our findings thus demonstrate a divergence between microstructural and macrostructural measures in the CC of adults with ADHD. This contrasts with findings in children demonstrating callosal abnormalities in both microstructure and macrostructure. Our results may indicate that adults with ADHD in part have succeeded in passing by an earlier developmental delay of the CC, resulting in a normalization of callosal macrostructure into adulthood. However, microstructural differences are still present in adults, which may point to an abnormal lateralization in adults with ADHD, or could be a sign of a persisting impairment.
本研究旨在通过磁共振成像（MRI）研究注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）成人的胼胝体（CC）的微观结构和宏观结构。从卑尔根的挪威 ADHD 项目中纳入了 29 名 ADHD 患者和 37 名对照者。我们使用弥散张量成像（DTI）和解剖 MRI 测量了 FA 值以及 CC 的不同细分部分的大小。与对照组相比，ADHD 组 CC 的峡部/压部部分的 FA 值降低，而 CC 的大小在两组之间没有差异。因此，我们的发现表明 ADHD 成人的 CC 在微观结构和宏观结构方面存在差异。这与在儿童中发现的 CC 微观结构和宏观结构都存在异常的发现形成对比。我们的结果可能表明，ADHD 成人在一定程度上成功地通过了 CC 的早期发育延迟，导致 CC 的宏观结构在成年期正常化。然而，微观结构差异仍然存在于成年人中，这可能表明 ADHD 成年人存在异常的侧化，或者可能是持续存在的损害的迹象。
