Quantitative MR analysis of caudate abnormalities in pediatric ADHD: proposal for a diagnostic test

Psychiatry Res. 2010 Jun 30;182(3):238-43. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.01.013. Epub 2010 May 20.

Abstract

Most morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with appropriate sample sizes reveal a decreased right caudate nucleus volume. Recently, our group reported that this decrease is mainly due to a diminished right caudate body volume (rCBV). Here, we hypothesize that, employing either the total bilateral caudate volume (tbCV) or the bilateral caudate body volume (bCBV) as scaling variables, the rCBV/tbCV and rCBV/bCBV ratios could be found diminished and used as a basis of an imaging diagnostic test. Volumetric caudate nucleus data were obtained from a case-control morphometric MRI study with 39 ADHD subjects and 39 handedness- and IQ-matched controls, using a novel semi-automated caudate segmentation procedure. Student t-tests comparing each relevant ratio were conducted between the two samples. After splitting the samples into two groups, a receiving operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted on the training group to determine the optimal cut-off. Its performance was then examined on the test group. The rCBV/bCBV ratio was found to be statistically different. For a value equal or inferior to 0.48, the specificity was 95.00%. We propose using the rCBV/bCBV ratio to assist in the diagnosis of ADHD in children.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Area Under Curve
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / diagnosis*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Caudate Nucleus / pathology*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
  • Male
  • Pediatrics*
  • ROC Curve