Altered theta beta ratio in infancy associates with family history of adhd and later adhd-relevant temperamental traits

TY - JOUR

T1 - Altered theta beta ratio in infancy associates with family history of adhd and later adhd-relevant temperamental traits

AU - Begum Ali, Jannath

AU - Goodwin, Amy

AU - Mason, Luke

AU - Pasco, Greg

AU - Charman, Tony

AU - Johnson, Mark H

AU - Jones, Emily J H

AU - BASIS-STAARS Team, The

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by awards from the Medical Research Council (MR/K021389/1; M.H.J., T.C.) and (MR/T003057/1; E.J.H.J., M.H.J., T.C.), MQ (MQ14PP_83, M.H.J., E.J.H.J., T.C.). Further, this work was also supported by the EU‐AIMS and AIMS‐2‐TRIALS programmes funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) Joint Undertaking Grant Nos. 115300 (M.H.J., T.C.) and No. 777394 (M.H.J., E.J.H.J. and T.C.; European Union’s FP7 and Horizon 2020, respectively). This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, with in‐kind contributions from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) companies and funding from Autism Speaks, Autistica and SFARI. Funding Information: This research was supported by awards from the Medical Research Council (MR/K021389/1; M.H.J., T.C.) and (MR/T003057/1; E.J.H.J., M.H.J., T.C.), MQ (MQ14PP_83, M.H.J., E.J.H.J., T.C.). Further, this work was also supported by the EU-AIMS and AIMS-2-TRIALS programmes funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) Joint Undertaking Grant Nos. 115300 (M.H.J., T.C.) and No. 777394 (M.H.J., E.J.H.J. and T.C.; European Union’s FP7 and Horizon 2020, respectively). This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, with in-kind contributions from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) companies and funding from Autism Speaks, Autistica and SFARI. The authors would like to thank the researchers who helped with data collection and recruitment; Kim Davies, Janice Fernandes, Marian Greensmith, and Natalie Vaz. The authors would also like to thank the placement student (Zoë Freeman) who helped in data collection. Finally, the authors would like to warmly thank all the parents and infants that took part in this study. The STAARS team consists of: Mary Agyapong, Tessel Bazelmans, Leila Dafner, Mutluhan Ersoy, Laurel Fish, Teodora Gliga, Rianne Haartsen, Alexandra Hendry, Rebecca Holman, Sarah Kalwarowsky, Anna Kolesnik, Laura Pirazzoli and Chloë Taylor. T.C. has served as a paid consultant to F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Servier. He has received royalties from Sage Publications and Guildford Publications. The remaining authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

PY - 2022/9

Y1 - 2022/9

N2 - Background: Uncovering the neural mechanisms that underlie symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) requires studying brain development prior to the emergence of behavioural difficulties. One new approach to this is prospective studies of infants with an elevated likelihood of developing ADHD. Methods: We used a prospective design to examine an oscillatory electroencephalography profile that has been widely studied in both children and adults with ADHD – the balance between lower and higher frequencies operationalised as the theta–beta ratio (TBR). In the present study, we examined TBR in 136 10-month-old infants (72 male and 64 female) with/without an elevated likelihood of developing ADHD and/or a comparison disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder; ASD). Results: Infants with a first-degree relative with ADHD demonstrated lower TBR than infants without a first-degree relative with ADHD. Further, lower TBR at 10 months was positively associated with temperament dimensions conceptually related to ADHD at 2 years. TBR was not altered in infants with a family history of ASD. Conclusions: This is the first demonstration that alterations in TBR are present prior to behavioural symptoms of ADHD. However, these alterations manifest differently than those sometimes observed in older children with an ADHD diagnosis. Importantly, altered TBR was not seen in infants at elevated likelihood of developing ASD, suggesting a degree of specificity to ADHD. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that there are brain changes associated with a family history of ADHD observable in the first year of life.

AB - Background: Uncovering the neural mechanisms that underlie symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) requires studying brain development prior to the emergence of behavioural difficulties. One new approach to this is prospective studies of infants with an elevated likelihood of developing ADHD. Methods: We used a prospective design to examine an oscillatory electroencephalography profile that has been widely studied in both children and adults with ADHD – the balance between lower and higher frequencies operationalised as the theta–beta ratio (TBR). In the present study, we examined TBR in 136 10-month-old infants (72 male and 64 female) with/without an elevated likelihood of developing ADHD and/or a comparison disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder; ASD). Results: Infants with a first-degree relative with ADHD demonstrated lower TBR than infants without a first-degree relative with ADHD. Further, lower TBR at 10 months was positively associated with temperament dimensions conceptually related to ADHD at 2 years. TBR was not altered in infants with a family history of ASD. Conclusions: This is the first demonstration that alterations in TBR are present prior to behavioural symptoms of ADHD. However, these alterations manifest differently than those sometimes observed in older children with an ADHD diagnosis. Importantly, altered TBR was not seen in infants at elevated likelihood of developing ASD, suggesting a degree of specificity to ADHD. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that there are brain changes associated with a family history of ADHD observable in the first year of life.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133523189&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jcpp.13563

DO - 10.1111/jcpp.13563

M3 - Article

SN - 0021-9630

VL - 63

SP - 1057

EP - 1067

JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

IS - 9

ER -