ADHD familial loading and abnormal EEG alpha asymmetry in children with ADHD

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Abstract

Objective

Abnormal brain laterality (ABL) is indicated in ADHD. ADHD and brain laterality are heritable. Genetic factors contributing to lateralization of brain function may contribute to ADHD. If so, increased ADHD family loading should be associated with greater ABL. Previous studies have shown increased rightward alpha asymmetry in ADHD. We tested whether this was more pronounced in ADHD children with increased ADHD family loading.

Methods

We compared EEG alpha asymmetry at rest and during the Conner’s Continuous Performance Test (CPT) in ADHD children with and without ADHD affected parents, and replicated our findings in a second larger sample. The replication study additionally stratified the parent-affected sample by parental persistent versus non-persistent ADHD status, increased spatial resolution of EEG measures, and assessed low versus high-alpha.

Results

Study-1: the parent-affected group showed increased rightward asymmetry across frontal and central regions and reduced rightward parietal asymmetry during an eyes closed (EC) condition, as well as increasing rightward parietal asymmetry with advancing age during the CPT. Study-2 replicated these findings and further delineated influences of low versus high-alpha, recording site, and effects of parental persistent versus non-persistent ADHD status.

Conclusion

Increased ADHD familial loading was associated with increased rightward frontal asymmetry. In contrast, increased rightward parietal asymmetry was associated with reduced ADHD family loading. Frontal results are consistent with an ADHD endophenotype. Parietal results suggest an ADHD adaptive trait prevalent with less ADHD family loading. Age effects indicate a unique developmental course among ADHD children whose parents have non-persistent ADHD.

Section snippets

Discussion

Abnormal brain laterality (ABL) is well established in ADHD. It is also well established that both ADHD (Biederman, 1998, Smalley, 1997) and brain laterality (Geschwind et al., 2002, Thompson et al., 2001) have heritable components. This work investigated whether genes contributing to ABL might also contribute to liability for ADHD reasoning that if this were true, ABL should be more pronounced in families more heavily loaded for ADHD. Increased rightward EEG alpha asymmetry in ADHD was

Role of funding

This work was funded in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH058277 (Smalley), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant HD40275 (Loo), National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke NS054124 (Loo), and by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH082104 (Hale).

Contributors

Author T. Sigi Hale is the first author and had the lead role in all aspects of this research. Author Susan Smalley contributed to study design, analysis methodology, writing and editing the manuscript, interpretation of data, and management and coordination of the research team. Author Jeff Dang was the lead statistician and contributed to all data analyses and writing of statistical results. Authors Grant Hanada and James Macion contributed to EEG collection, processing, analysis, and

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