Structural and functional cerebellar-cerebral connectivity in children with ADHD

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The cerebellum is an understudied brain structure that has been implicated in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood. ADHD symptoms have been shown to impair learning ability and disrupt quality of life. However, neither the neural basis of ADHD, nor the cerebellum’s role, is entirely understood. It is critical to better understand the neural systems impacted in ADHD to improve target treatment options for those who are afflicted by the disorder. A leading theory is that symptoms and cognitive difficulties experienced by children with ADHD are caused by dysfunctional network organization. Thus far, the majority of this research has been focused on cortical networks. However, given cerebellar involvement in ADHD, it is crucial to consider how the cerebellum is connected with cortical networks known to be altered in ADHD. To this avail, this proposed research seeks to investigate cerebellar-cerebral networks in an effort to elucidate our understanding of the relationship between cerebellar dysfunction and ADHD. The main goals of this proposal are to investigate: (a) connections between the cerebellum and cerebrum in the context of structural and functional network analyses, and (b) how these connections are associated with working memory ability. First, I will test for differences in structural cerebellarcerebral connectivity in children with ADHD in comparison to typically developing (TD) children (Aim 1a) and investigate whether structural connectivity can predict working memory ability (Aim 1b). Second, I will examine functional cerebellar-cerebral connectivity in children with ADHD in comparison to TD children (Aim 2a) and test whether functional connectivity can predict working memory ability (Aim 2b). This proposal will afford me the opportunity to expand my previous knowledge of region-of-interest functional connectivity analyses by learning how to perform network-level analyses and structural data analysis with diffusion weighted imaging data. Overall, this research will elucidate the cerebellum’s relationship with the cerebrum and its involvement in ADHD, which may be applicable to other neurodevelopmental disorders with cerebellar dysfunction as well. Importantly, this research will inform our understanding of the neural basis of ADHD and may ultimately lead to the development of treatments that target brain systems that are disrupted in ADHD. Moreover, the successful completion of this research proposal and training will allow me to develop the skillsets necessary to transition into a tenured independent research position.