The relationship of brain structure to age and executive functioning in adolescent disruptive behavior disorder. Psychiatry Res 2015 Mar 30;231(3):210-7
Date
12/24/2014Pubmed ID
25533028DOI
10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.11.009Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84930384232 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 23 CitationsAbstract
Characterizing brain maturation in adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) may provide insight into the progression of their behavioral deficits. Therefore, this study examined how age and executive functioning were related to structural neural characteristics in DBD. Thirty-three individuals (aged 13-17) with a DBD, along with a matched control sample, completed neuropsychological testing and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure gray matter volume and microstructural white matter properties. Voxel-based morphometry quantified gray matter volume, and diffusion tensor imaging measured fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter tracts. In the anterior cingulate, gray matter volume decreased with age in healthy controls but showed no such change in the DBD sample. In the corpus callosum and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), FA increased with age in the control sample significantly more than in the DBD sample. Executive functioning, particularly working memory, was associated with SLF FA bilaterally. However, the relationship of SLF FA to working memory performance was weaker in the DBD sample. These data suggest that youth with DBD have altered brain development compared with typically developing youth. The abnormal maturation of the anterior cingulate and frontoparietal tracts during adolescence may contribute to the persistence of behavioral deficits in teens with a DBD.
Author List
Hummer TA, Wang Y, Kronenberger WG, Dunn DW, Mathews VPAuthors
Vincent Mathews MD Chair, Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of WisconsinYang Wang MD Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdolescent Behavior
Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Brain
Corpus Callosum
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Executive Function
Female
Gyrus Cinguli
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
Neuropsychological Tests
