Brain morphology in children with epilepsy and ADHD.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 24760032.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0095269 and PMC identifier 3997349.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common comorbidity of childhood epilepsy, but the neuroanatomical correlates of ADHD in epilepsy have yet to be comprehensively characterized. METHODS: Children with new and recent-onset epilepsy with (n = 18) and without (n = 36) ADHD, and healthy controls (n = 46) underwent high resolution MRI. Measures of cortical morphology (thickness, area, volume, curvature) and subcortical and cerebellar volumes were compared between the groups using the program FreeSurfer 5.1. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, children with epilepsy and ADHD exhibited diffuse bilateral thinning in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes, with volume reductions in the brainstem and subcortical structures (bilateral caudate, left thalamus, right hippocampus). There were very few group differences across measures of cortical volume, area or curvature. CONCLUSIONS: Children with epilepsy and comorbid ADHD exhibited a pattern of bilateral and widespread decreased cortical thickness as well as decreased volume of subcortical structures and brainstem. These anatomic abnormalities were evident early in the course of epilepsy suggesting the presence of antecedent neurodevelopmental changes, the course of which remains to be determined.
Medical subject headings
- Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
- Brain
- Epilepsy