Comparative meta-analyses of brain structural and functional abnormalities during cognitive control in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

BackgroundPeople with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have abnormalities in frontal, temporal, parietal and striato-thalamic networks. It is unclear to what extent these abnormalities are distinctive or shared. This comparative meta-analysis aimed to identify the most consistent disorder-differentiating and shared structural and functional abnormalities.MethodsSystematic literature search was conducted for whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of cognitive control comparing people with ASD or ADHD with typically developing controls. Regional gray matter volume (GMV) and fMRI abnormalities during cognitive control were compared in the overall sample and in age-, sex- and IQ-matched subgroups with seed-based d mapping meta-analytic methods.ResultsEighty-six independent VBM (1533 ADHD and 1295 controls; 1445 ASD and 1477 controls) and 60 fMRI datasets (1001 ADHD and 1004 controls; 335 ASD and 353 controls) were identified. The VBM meta-analyses revealed ADHD-differentiating decreased ventromedial orbitofrontal (z = 2.22, p < 0.0001) but ASD-differentiating increased bilateral temporal and right dorsolateral prefrontal GMV (zs ⩾ 1.64, ps ⩽ 0.002). The fMRI meta-analyses of cognitive control revealed ASD-differentiating medial prefrontal underactivation but overactivation in bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortices and precuneus (zs ⩾ 1.04, ps ⩽ 0.003). During motor response inhibition specifically, ADHD relative to ASD showed right inferior fronto-striatal underactivation (zs ⩾ 1.14, ps ⩽ 0.003) but shared right anterior insula underactivation.ConclusionsPeople with ADHD and ASD have mostly distinct structural abnormalities, with enlarged fronto-temporal GMV in ASD and reduced orbitofrontal GMV in ADHD; and mostly distinct functional abnormalities, which were more pronounced in ASD.

Modulation of atypical brain activation during executive functioning in autism: a pharmacological MRI study of tianeptine

“…This study also reported functional abnormalities in brain activation in inferior frontal cortex and cerebellum. In addition, increased activation in left inferior frontal cortex in ASD has previously been reported during motor response inhibition using the same GNG, during cognitive interference inhibition (8) and consistently in a meta-analysis of cognitive control fMRI studies (11). Taken together, this provides preliminary evidence suggesting that tianeptine affects brain regions associated with RSRBs, though it is unknown if it can successfully treat RSRBs in ASD.…”

“…Brain regions that are activated during EF tasks have been implicated in ASD. For example, functional differences in inferior and orbitofrontal cortex, caudate, thalamus and cerebellum have been reported in children and adults with ASD as compared to typically developing control subjects during response inhibition tasks (8)(9)(10), which has been further con rmed in a recent meta-analysis of functional MRI (fMRI) studies of cognitive control (11). Also, fMRI studies using sustained attention tasks have reported signi cantly less activation in children and adults with ASD (7,12) in regions associated with sustained attention, including inferior and middle frontal, parietal, striato-thalamic, and cerebellar regions (13,14).…”

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…Structural [6][7][8] and task-based functional [7][8][9][10][11][12] ADHD neuroimaging studies have been quantitatively synthesized in a number of meta-analyses, with overall mixed findings across meta-analyses, possibly due to different age range of participants (children, e.g., 7 or adults, e.g. 12 ), type of comparison (ADHD vs TDC, e.g., 9 or ADHD vs other neuropsychiatric disorders, e.g., 8 ) and meta-J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f analytic methods (e.g., Signed Differential Mapping, SDM 6 or Activation Likelihood Estimation, ALE 7 ). Additionally, in a large sample from the ENIGMA-ADHD consortium, subtle differences in surface area emerged in frontal, cingulate and temporal regions between children with ADHD and controls, but no significant differences were detected in adolescents or adults with the disorder compared to TDC.…”

Neural Correlates of Theory of Mind in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and the Comorbid Condition

“…In the context of neuroimaging of ADHD, altered orbitofrontal and lateral fronto-striatal activation, which is typicaly linked to executive function deficits (46)(47)(48), has been Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; FC, functional connectivity; GD, goal directed movement; fMRI, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; TD, typically developing controls; mPFC, medial prefrontal cortex; ToM, Theory of mind; TPJ, temporoparietal junction; rANG, right angular gyrus; RD, random movement; ROI, region-ofinterest. cited as possible mediator for the social cognition deficits in ADHD (49,50), although, to our knowledge, no fMRI studies have explored neural correlates of ToM in ADHD.…”

“…In the context of neuroimaging of ADHD, altered orbitofrontal and lateral fronto-striatal activation, which is typicaly linked to executive function deficits ( 46 – 48 ), has been cited as possible mediator for the social cognition deficits in ADHD ( 49 , 50 ), although, to our knowledge, no fMRI studies have explored neural correlates of ToM in ADHD. Importantly, it is unclear if social cognition and mentalizing deficits are intrinsic to ADHD ( 41 ) or reflect co-occuring ASD traits in the population ( 40 ).…”