Effect of brain structure and function on reward anticipation in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder combined subtype

Viola Kappel; Robert C Lorenz; Martina Streifling; Babette Renneberg; Ulrike Lehmkuhl; Andreas Ströhle; Harriet Salbach-Andrae; Anne Beck

doi:10.1093/scan/nsu135

Effect of brain structure and function on reward anticipation in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder combined subtype

Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Jul;10(7):945-51. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsu135. Epub 2014 Oct 22.

Authors

Viola Kappel¹, Robert C Lorenz², Martina Streifling³, Babette Renneberg³, Ulrike Lehmkuhl³, Andreas Ströhle³, Harriet Salbach-Andrae³, Anne Beck³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany, and Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489 Berlin, Germany Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany, and Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489 Berlin, Germany viola.kappel@charite.de.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany, and Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489 Berlin, Germany Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany, and Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489 Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany, and Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489 Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with decreased ventral-striatal responsiveness during reward anticipation. However, previous research mostly focused on adults with heterogeneous ADHD subtype and divers drug treatment status while studies in children with ADHD are sparse. Moreover, it remains unclear to what degree ADHD is characterized by a delay of normal brain structure or function maturation. We therefore attempt to determine whether results from structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are associated with childhood and adult ADHD combined subtype (ADHD-CT). This study used fMRI to compare VS structure and function of 30 participants with ADHD-CT (16 adults, 14 children) and 30 controls (20 adults, 10 children), using a monetary incentive delay task. Joint analyses of structural and functional imaging data were conducted with Biological Parametric Mapping. Reward anticipation elicited decreased ventral-striatal responsiveness in adults but not in children with ADHD-CT. Children and adults with ADHD showed reduced ventral-striatal volume. Taking these gray matter differences into account, the results remained the same. These results suggest that decreased ventral-striatal responsiveness during reward anticipation is present in adults but not in children with ADHD-CT, irrespective of structural characteristics. The question arises whether ventral-striatal hypoactivity is an ADHD correlate that develops during the course of illness.

Keywords: ADHD; reward anticipation; ventral striatum.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Anticipation, Psychological*
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / pathology*
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology*
Brain / pathology*
Brain Mapping
Child
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Reaction Time
Reward*
Ventral Striatum / pathology
Young Adult