Light up ADHD: II. Neuropharmacological effects measured by near infrared spectroscopy: is there a biomarker?
BACKGROUND
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in self-controlling attention, behavior, and emotions. In recent years, noninvasive optical techniques, such as near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), have been used to measure the neural correlates of pharmacological-therapy outcomes in children and adolescents with ADHD.


METHODS
We reviewed a short series of articles that investigated the results of functional NIRS (fNIRS) on developmental-age ADHD. The review was limited to fNIRS studies that investigated the cortical responses that occurred during neuropsychological tasks in ADHD patients who received methylphenidate or atomoxetine.


RESULTS
The majority of the reviewed studies revealed the presence of increased oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations in the prefrontal cortex following pharmacotherapy in ADHD samples. A higher frequency of right-lateralized results was found.


LIMITATIONS
The considered studies are characterized by substantial methodological heterogeneity in terms of the patients' medication status and washout period, explored cerebral regions, and neuropsychological tasks.


CONCLUSIONS
fNIRS seems to be a promising tool for the detection of pharmacological-treatment biomarkers in samples of children and adolescents with ADHD.
['Grazioli|Silvia|S|', 'Mauri|Maddalena|M|', 'Crippa|Alessandro|A|', 'Maggioni|Eleonora|E|', 'Molteni|Massimo|M|', 'Brambilla|Paolo|P|', 'Nobile|Maria|M|']
D000375:Aging D000069445:Atomoxetine Hydrochloride D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity D015415:Biomarkers D006801:Humans D008774:Methylphenidate D010108:Oxyhemoglobins D017397:Prefrontal Cortex D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared
ADHD Biomarker fNIRS Pharmachological-treatment Rehabilitation