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 .
Methylphenidate Normalizes Frontocingulate Underactivation During Error Processing in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Background Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) have deficits in performance monitoring often improved with the indirect catecholamine agonist methylpheni date ( MPH ) . We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effects of single-dose MPH on activation of error processing brain areas in medication-naive boys with ADHD during a stop task that elicits 50 % error rates . Methods Twelve medication-naive boys with ADHD were scanned twice , under either a single clinical dose of MPH or placebo , in a r and omized , double-blind design while they performed an individually adjusted tracking stop task , design ed to elicit 50 % failures . Brain activation was compared within patients under either drug condition . To test for potential normalization effects of MPH , brain activation in ADHD patients under either drug condition was compared with that of 13 healthy age-matched boys . Results During failed inhibition , boys with ADHD under placebo relative to control subjects showed reduced brain activation in performance monitoring areas of dorsomedial and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortices , thalamus , cingulate , and parietal regions . MPH , relative to placebo , upregulated activation in these brain regions within patients and normalized all activation differences between patients and control subjects . During successful inhibition , MPH normalized reduced activation observed in patients under placebo compared with control subjects in parietotemporal and cerebellar regions . Conclusions MPH normalized brain dysfunction in medication-naive ADHD boys relative to control subjects in typical brain areas of performance monitoring , comprising left ventrolateral and dorsomedial frontal and parietal cortices . This could underlie the amelioration of MPH of attention and academic performance in ADHD
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 .