RESULTS In ADHD patients the middle and inferior frontal gyri , basal ganglia , and cerebellum were most often affected by MPH .
The middle and inferior frontal gyri were frequently affected by MPH during inhibitory control tasks .
Throughout nine task-based fMRI studies investigating MPH 's effect on the brains of pediatric patients with ADHD , MPH result ed in increased activation within frontal lobes , basal ganglia , and cerebellum .
In most cases , this increase " normalized " activation of at least some brain areas to that seen in typically developing children
OBJECTIVE Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) is a psychiatric disorder affecting 5 % of children .
Methylpheni date ( MPH ) is a common medication for ADHD .
Studies examining MPH 's effect on pediatric ADHD patients ' brain function using functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) have not been compiled .
The goals of this systematic review were to determine ( 1 ) which areas of the brain in pediatric ADHD patients are modulated by a single dose of MPH , ( 2 ) whether areas modulated by MPH differ by task type performed during fMRI data acquisition , and ( 3 ) whether changes in brain activation due to MPH relate to clinical improvements in ADHD-related symptoms .
Effects of methylphenidate on working memory functioning in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) often show deficits in working memory performance .  Methylpheni date ( MPH ) is an effective medication to improve these cognitive difficulties . This study aim ed to clarify which effect MPH induces on the underlying functional networks of working memory . METHODS Fourteen boys diagnosed with ADHD and 12 healthy controls were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) . Each patient was tested twice , once with medication and once without . The fMRI experiments consisted of three verbal N-back tasks with increasing difficulty . Functional images were acquired on a 3 Tesla head scanner . RESULTS On the behavioral level , medicated patients performed similar to healthy controls and significantly better than without medication . On the functional level , patients showed the expected frontal and parietal activations , which were more pronounced in the 2- and 3-back tasks . Healthy controls showed significantly more activation in these regions and additional activation in the cerebellum . Interestingly , patients showed an additional effect of laterality . Left-sided frontal and parietal activation in patients was significantly less pronounced than in controls . CONCLUSION Functional data indicate different activation patterns in verbal working memory tasks between healthy controls and patients with ADHD irrespective of medication condition . Intake of MPH led to a clear improvement on a behavioral level . However , this effect was not reflected by changes in functional brain organization . MPH-induced changes leading to better performance in verbal working memory tasks might be very subtle and therefore not detectable by fMRI
RESULTS In ADHD patients the middle and inferior frontal gyri , basal ganglia , and cerebellum were most often affected by MPH .
The middle and inferior frontal gyri were frequently affected by MPH during inhibitory control tasks .
Throughout nine task-based fMRI studies investigating MPH 's effect on the brains of pediatric patients with ADHD , MPH result ed in increased activation within frontal lobes , basal ganglia , and cerebellum .
In most cases , this increase " normalized " activation of at least some brain areas to that seen in typically developing children
OBJECTIVE Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) is a psychiatric disorder affecting 5 % of children .
Methylpheni date ( MPH ) is a common medication for ADHD .
Studies examining MPH 's effect on pediatric ADHD patients ' brain function using functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) have not been compiled .
The goals of this systematic review were to determine ( 1 ) which areas of the brain in pediatric ADHD patients are modulated by a single dose of MPH , ( 2 ) whether areas modulated by MPH differ by task type performed during fMRI data acquisition , and ( 3 ) whether changes in brain activation due to MPH relate to clinical improvements in ADHD-related symptoms .