Genetic background of grey matter brain networks related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Gido Schoenmacker; Kuaikuai Duan; Kelly Rootes-Murdy; Wenhao Jiang; Pieter J. Hoekstra; Catharina Annette Hartman; Jaap Oosterlaan; Martine Hoogman; Barbara Franke; Jessica A. Turner; Jingyu Liu; Tom Claassen; Tom Heskes; Jan K. Buitelaar; Alejandro Arias Vásquez

doi:10.1101/2022.01.07.22268852

Genetic & Genomic MedicinemedRxivJan 7, 2022

Preprint

Genetic background of grey matter brain networks related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Gido Schoenmacker iD, Kuaikuai Duan iD, Kelly Rootes-Murdy iD, Wenhao Jiang iD, Pieter J. Hoekstra iD, Catharina Annette Hartman iD, Jaap Oosterlaan iD, Martine Hoogman iD, Barbara Franke iD, Jessica A. Turner iD, Jingyu Liu iD, Tom Claassen, Tom Heskes iD, Jan K. Buitelaar iD, Alejandro Arias Vásquez iD

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder and is associated with structural grey matter differences in the brain. We investigated the genetic background of some of these brain differences in a sample of 899 adults and adolescents consisting of individuals with ADHD and healthy controls. Previous work in an overlapping sample identified three ADHD-related grey matter brain networks located in areas of the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyrus as well as the cerebellar tonsil and culmen. We associated these brain networks with protein coding genes using a statistical stability selection approach. We identified ten genes, the most promising of which were NR3C2, TRHDE, SCFD1, GNAO1, and UNC5D. These genes are expressed in brain and linked to neuropsychiatric disorders including ADHD. With our results we aid in the growing understanding of the aetiology of ADHD from genes to brain to behaviour.

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