Background: Impaired cognitive control in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be related to a prefrontal cortical glutamatergic deficit. We assessed the glutamate level in the left and the right midfrontal region including the anterior cingulate cortex in adults with ADHD and healthy controls.
Methods: Twenty-nine adults with ADHD and 38 healthy controls were included. We used Proton Magnetic Resonance Imaging with single voxel point-resolved spectroscopy to measure the ratio of glutamate to creatine (Glu/Cre) in the left and the right midfrontal region in the two groups.
Results: The ADHD group showed a significant reduction of Glu/Cre in the left midfrontal region compared to the controls.
Conclusion: The reduction of Glu/Cre in the left midfrontal region in the ADHD group may reflect a glutamatergic deficit in prefrontal neuronal circuitry in adults with ADHD, resulting in problems with cognitive control.
Keywords: ACC; ADHD; Glu/Cre; MR spectroscopy; MRS; cognitive control; cortex cinguli anterior; glutamate.