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The inattentive and hyperactive brain: Significant links between corpus callosum features and ADHD symptoms in adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

E. Luders ,
F. Kurth ,
D. Das ,
D. Oyarce ,
M. Shaw ,
P. Sachdev ,
S. Easteal ,
K. Anstey  and
N. Cherbuin
E. Luders*
Affiliation:
UCLA School of Medicine, Neurology, Los Angeles, USA
F. Kurth
Affiliation:
UCLA School of Medicine, Neurology, Los Angeles, USA
D. Das
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing, Canberra, Australia
D. Oyarce
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing, Canberra, Australia
M. Shaw
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing, Canberra, Australia
P. Sachdev
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, School of Psychiatry, Sydney, Australia
S. Easteal
Affiliation:
Australian National University, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Canberra, Australia
K. Anstey
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing, Canberra, Australia
N. Cherbuin
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing, Canberra, Australia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Introduction

Neuroimaging studies of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have revealed structural deviations of the corpus callosum in children and adolescents. However, little is known about the link between callosal morphology and symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity in adulthood, especially later in life.

Objective

We aimed to further expand this understudied field by analyzing a large population-based sample of 280 adults (150 males, 130 females) in their late sixties and early seventies.

Methods

We applied a well-validated approach capturing the thickness of the corpus callosum with a high regional specificity at 100 equidistant points. In addition to correlating point-wise callosal thickness with ADHD symptom measures within the whole sample, we tested for sex interactions.

Results

There were significant sex interactions with respect to measures of inattention and hyperactivity, with follow-up analyses revealing significant negative correlations in males (see Fig. 1 – Top). In contrast, there were positive correlations with respect to hyperactivity only in females (see Fig. 1 – Bottom).

Conclusion

A thinner corpus callosum may be associated with fewer fibers or less myelination. Thus, the negative correlations, as observed in males, suggest an impaired inter-hemispheric communication necessary to sustain motor control and attention, which may contribute to symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and/or inattention. The functional relevance and underlying mechanisms of the positive correlations, as detected in females, remain to be resolved.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Type
EW347
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 33 , Issue S1: Abstracts of the 24th European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2016 , pp. S197 - S198
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2016

Fig. 1

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Fig. 1

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