ADHD is a common childhood onset neuro-behavioural disorder characterized by age inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Frequently persisting into adulthood, ADHD poses a vast range of disturbances on personal, social, academic and work-related domains.
The shift from discrete brain region-related dysfunction to network-dysfunction approach led to increased interest in the Default Mode Network (DMN) in the pathophysiology of ADHD. Identified in a resting brain, the DMN gained its name as a network denoting the so-called default mode function of the brain. The idiosyncratic feature of the DMN is its antagonism with externally-oriented, attention-demanding tasks. The DMN has been shown to exhibit higher levels of activation during idle or rest states; it is attenuated during task performance; the level of DMN suppression has been found to depend on task demands. Moreover, enhanced DMN attenuation during cognitively challenging tasks has been shown to work as a prerequisite for performance benefits. To date, two core DMN dysfunctions have been proposed in ADHD. First, the altered and disturbed patterns of functional connectivity within the DMN, as well as disorganized functional connections between the DMN and other brain networks during rest. Second, the deficient and ineffective DMN activity suppression during externally-oriented, cognitively-challenging tasks, which may lead to the DMN re-emergence during task performance resulting in performance decrements. The main aim of the current research project is to further investigate the ADHD-related DMN disturbances.
Duration: 02/2011 - 02/2015
Project funder: FWO grant