Sörös Peter, Bachmann Katharina, Lam Alexandra P, Kanat Manuela, Hoxhaj Eliza, Matthies Swantje, Feige Bernd, Müller Helge H O, Thiel Christiane, Philipsen Alexandra
School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Karl-Jaspers-Klinik, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
Research Center Neurosensory Science, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
Front Psychiatry. 2017 Sep 13;8:170. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00170. eCollection 2017.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adulthood is a serious and frequent psychiatric disorder with the core symptoms inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The principal aim of this study was to investigate associations between brain morphology, i.e., cortical thickness and volumes of subcortical gray matter, and individual symptom severity in adult ADHD.
Surface-based brain morphometry was performed in 35 women and 29 men with ADHD using FreeSurfer. Linear regressions were calculated between cortical thickness and the volumes of subcortical gray matter and the inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity subscales of the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS). Two separate analyses were performed. For the first analysis, age was included as additional regressor. For the second analysis, both age and severity of depression were included as additional regressors. Study participants were recruited between June 2012 and January 2014.
Linear regression identified an area in the left occipital cortex of men, covering parts of the middle occipital sulcus and gyrus, in which the score on the CAARS inattention subscale predicted increased mean cortical thickness [(1,27) = 26.27, < 0.001, adjusted = 0.4744]. No significant associations were found between cortical thickness and the scores on CAARS subscales in women. No significant associations were found between the volumes of subcortical gray matter and the scores on CAARS subscales, neither in men nor in women. These results remained stable when severity of depression was included as additional regressor, together with age.
Increased cortical thickness in the left occipital cortex may represent a mechanism to compensate for dysfunctional attentional networks in male adult ADHD patients.
成人注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）是一种严重且常见的精神障碍，其核心症状为注意力不集中、冲动和多动。本研究的主要目的是调查大脑形态（即皮质厚度和皮质下灰质体积）与成人ADHD个体症状严重程度之间的关联。
使用FreeSurfer对35名患有ADHD的女性和29名患有ADHD的男性进行基于表面的脑形态测量。计算皮质厚度、皮质下灰质体积与康纳斯成人ADHD评定量表（CAARS）的注意力不集中、多动和冲动分量表之间的线性回归。进行了两项独立分析。第一次分析将年龄作为额外的回归变量。第二次分析将年龄和抑郁严重程度都作为额外的回归变量。研究参与者于2012年6月至2014年1月招募。
线性回归在男性左枕叶皮质中确定了一个区域，该区域覆盖枕中沟和枕中回的部分区域，其中CAARS注意力不集中分量表的得分预测平均皮质厚度增加[（1,27）=26.27，<0.001，调整后=0.4744]。在女性中，未发现皮质厚度与CAARS分量表得分之间存在显著关联。在男性和女性中，均未发现皮质下灰质体积与CAARS分量表得分之间存在显著关联。当将抑郁严重程度与年龄一起作为额外的回归变量时，这些结果保持稳定。
左枕叶皮质皮质厚度增加可能是男性成年ADHD患者补偿功能失调的注意力网络的一种机制。
