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Open Access 25-04-2024 | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | Original Contribution

The underlying neuropsychological and neural correlates of the impaired Chinese reading skills in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Authors: Zhao-Min Wu, Peng Wang, Yun-Yu Zhong, Yun Liu, Xue-Chun Liu, Jiu-Ju Wang, Xiao-Lan Cao, Lu Liu, Li Sun, Li Yang, Yu-Feng Zang, Ying Qian, Qing-Jiu Cao, Yu-Feng Wang, Bin-Rang Yang

Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Abstract

Impaired basic academic skills (e.g., word recognition) are common in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The underlying neuropsychological and neural correlates of impaired Chinese reading skills in children with ADHD have not been substantially explored. Three hundred and two children with ADHD (all medication-naïve) and 105 healthy controls underwent the Chinese language skill assessment, and 175 also underwent fMRI scans (84 ADHD and 91 controls). Between-group and mediation analyses were applied to explore the interrelationships of the diagnosis of ADHD, cognitive dysfunction, and impaired reading skills. Five ADHD-related brain functional networks, including the default mode network (DMN) and the dorsal attention network (DAN), were built using predefined regions of interest. Voxel-based group-wise comparisons were performed. The ADHD group performed worse than the control group in word-level reading ability tests, with lower scores in Chinese character recognition (CR) and word chains (WS) (all P < 0.05). With full-scale IQ and sustained attention in the mediation model, the direct effect of ADHD status on the CR score became insignificant (P = 0.066). The underlying neural correlates for the orthographic knowledge (OT) and CR differed between the ADHD and the control group. The ADHD group tended to recruit more DMN regions to maintain their reading performance, while the control group seemed to utilize more DAN regions. Children with ADHD generally presented impaired word-level reading skills, which might be caused by impaired sustained attention and lower IQ. According to the brain functional results, we infer that ADHD children might utilize a different strategy to maintain their orthographic knowledge and character recognition performance.

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Title: The underlying neuropsychological and neural correlates of the impaired Chinese reading skills in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Zhao-Min Wu
Peng Wang
Yun-Yu Zhong
Yun Liu
Xue-Chun Liu
Jiu-Ju Wang
Xiao-Lan Cao
Lu Liu
Li Sun
Li Yang
Yu-Feng Zang
Ying Qian
Qing-Jiu Cao
Yu-Feng Wang
Bin-Rang Yang
Publication date: 25-04-2024
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keywords: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Published in: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Print ISSN: 1018-8827
Electronic ISSN: 1435-165X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-024-02422-w

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The underlying neuropsychological and neural correlates of the impaired Chinese reading skills in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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