Neuroimaging Predictors of ADHD Treatment Response

Plain-language summary

Research on using brain imaging (neuroimaging) to predict how individuals with ADHD will respond to different treatments is a growing area, but it’s still in its early stages. While some studies suggest potential, the evidence is mixed and more research is needed before these methods can be used routinely in clinics.

Key findings

• Some individualized prediction models using neuroimaging show promise, but their clinical usefulness is still being explored.
• There's an ongoing effort to identify biological markers, including those from neuroimaging, that could help predict how adults with ADHD will respond to treatment, but no definitive markers have been established yet.
• One study found that neuroimaging, combined with machine learning, showed some ability to predict the effectiveness of a specific medication (methylphenidate) in children with ADHD.
• Despite decades of neuroscience research, translating neuroimaging findings into practical diagnostic and treatment biomarkers for ADHD is still a challenge.
• Deep learning techniques applied to neuroimaging data are being investigated as a way to potentially identify patterns that could predict treatment response in ADHD, but this is an evolving field.

Studies cited (6)

1. Individualized prediction models in ADHD: a systematic review and meta-regression — Salazar de Pablo G, Iniesta R, Bellato A (2024, Molecular psychiatry, systematic-review)

   DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02606-5 PMCID: PMC11609101

2. Biological Predictors of Treatment Response in Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Systematic Review — Capuzzi E, Caldiroli A, Auxilia AM (2022, Journal of personalized medicine, systematic-review)

   DOI: 10.3390/jpm12101742 PMCID: PMC9605680

3. Neuroimaging-Aided Prediction of the Effect of Methylphenidate in Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial — Ishii-Takahashi A, Takizawa R, Nishimura Y (2015, Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, rct)

   DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.128 PMCID: PMC4864654

4. Translating Decades of Neuroscience Research into Diagnostic and Treatment Biomarkers for ADHD — Loo SK, Lenartowicz A, Norman LJ (2024, Advances in neurobiology, other)

   DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-69491-2_20

5. Neuroimaging-Based Deep Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder — Song JW, Yoon NR, Jang SM (2020, Soa--ch'ongsonyon chongsin uihak = Journal of child & adolescent psychiatry, other)

   DOI: 10.5765/jkacap.200021 PMCID: PMC7350542

6. Progress and roadblocks in the search for brain-based biomarkers of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — Uddin LQ, Dajani DR, Voorhies W (2017, Translational psychiatry, other)

   DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.164 PMCID: PMC5611731