Table 3.
Key characteristics of motor-related neuroimaging studies in children with ADHD.
| Author(s) | Design Type | Groups & Ages | Method | Key Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Ashtari et al., 2005) | Cross-Sectional | Children with (n = 18) and without (n = 15) ADHD; ages 7 to 10 years old | Resting State; DTI | Children with ADHD exhibited reduced white matter integrity in key cerebellar pathways compared to controls |
| (Damatac et al., 2022; Francx et al., 2015; Leenders et al., 2021) | Longitudinal | Children with, at-risk, or without ADHD; ages 6 to 18, 9 to 26; 12 to 29; 18 to 34 | Resting State; DTI | ADHD symptom remission was associated with accelerated fiber development in sensorimotor tracts into adolescence and adulthood; persistent ADHD showed ongoing alterations in these pathways |
| (Wang et al., 2022) | Cross-Sectional | Children and adolescents with (n = 106) and without (n = 62) ADHD; ages 8 to 16 | Resting State FC | ADHD group showed higher FC in superior temporal gyrus and increasing cerebro-cerebellar FC with age |
| (Mostofsky et al., 2006) | Longitudinal | Children with (n = 11); and without (n = 11) ADHD; ages 8 to 12 | Task-Based fMRI with finger tapping | ADHD group showed decreased contralateral motor cortex and right parietal cortex activation during task |
| (McLeod et al., 2014) | Cross-Sectional | Children with ADHD (n = 21), DCD (n = 7), DCD + ADHD (n = 18) and controls (n = 23); ages 8 to 17 | Resting State FC | Children with ADHD, DCD, and DCD+ADHD exhibited lower FC in motor networks compared to controls |
| (Thornton et al., 2018) | Cross-Sectional | Children with ADHD (n = 20), DCD (n = 9), DCD + ADHD (n = 18) and controls (n = 20); ages 8 to 17 | Task-Based fMRI with go–no-go task | Lower activation in right primary motor, right sensory cortex, and left frontal gyri; all clinical groups showed worse cognitive task performance |
| (Fuelscher et al., 2023) | Longitudinal | Children with persistent ADHD (n = 62), remitted ADHD (n = 37), and controls (n = 85); ages 10 at first wave, and ~18 months for 3 waves | Resting State; DTI | Persistent ADHD later in showed ongoing white matter alterations along sensorimotor pathway compared to remitted and control groups |
| (Hyde et al., 2021a) | Cross-Sectional | Children with (n = 50) and without (n = 56) ADHD; ages 9–11 | Resting State; DTI with grooved pegboard | Children with ADHD exhibited worse fine motor dexterity than controls, and also exhibited lower CST integrity |
| (Hyde et al., 2021b) | Cross-Sectional | Children with (n = 55) and without (n = 61) ADHD; ages 9–11 | Resting State; DTI with grooved pegboard | Children with ADHD exhibited worse fine motor dexterity with dominant hand, which corresponded to lower SLF integrity |
| (Hyde et al., 2023) | Longitudinal | Children with (n = 27) and without (n = 33) ADHD; ages 9–14 with 3 waves of imaging | Resting State; DTI | In middle childhood, children with ADHD exhibited lower BL CST integrity relative to those without ADHD, whether they had motor difficulties or not; and CST integrity improved in children with ADHD without motor difficulties in adolescence |
| (Hyde et al., 2024) | Cross-Sectional | Children with (n = 92) and without (n = 185) ADHD; ages 8–12 | Resting State; DTI; measured subtle motor signs | Morphology of sensorimotor tracts contributes to severity of subtle motor signs in children with and without ADHD, but not unique to ADHD |