Functional network disruption in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Recently, many researchers have used graph theory to study the aberrant brain functions in mental disorders. However, the characteristics of the brain functional network in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are still largely unexplored. In this study, blood oxygen level-dependence (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) were employed to construct brain functional networks in 57 children with ADHD and 59 healthy controls (HC). The results showed that both groups had similar global efficiency and the ADHD group had significantly decreased local efficiency compared with the HC. The between-group differences of degree values were found in the frontal cortex, temporal cortex and the default mode network (DMN). The ADHD group retained most of the hub regions found in the HC, but showed altered hub regions in the left posterior cingulate gyrus and the right lingual gyrus. This altered topological organization of the functional network might be associated with the underlying pathophysiology in ADHD.