Longer screen time utilization is associated with the polygenic risk for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mediation by brain white matter microstructure

Anyi Yang; Edmund T Rolls; Guiying Dong; Jingnan Du; Yuzhu Li; Jianfeng Feng; Wei Cheng; Xing-Ming Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104039

Longer screen time utilization is associated with the polygenic risk for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mediation by brain white matter microstructure

EBioMedicine. 2022 Jun:80:104039. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104039. Epub 2022 May 1.

Authors

Anyi Yang¹, Edmund T Rolls², Guiying Dong³, Jingnan Du³, Yuzhu Li³, Jianfeng Feng⁴, Wei Cheng⁵, Xing-Ming Zhao⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
² Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, UK.
³ Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; Fudan ISTBI-ZJNU Algorithm Centre for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; Fudan ISTBI-ZJNU Algorithm Centre for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China. Electronic address: wcheng.fdu@gmail.com.
⁶ Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Research Institute of Intelligent Complex Systems, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: xmzhao@fudan.edu.cn.

Abstract

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been reported to be associated with longer screen time utilization (STU) at the behavioral level. However, whether there are shared neural links between ADHD symptoms and prolonged STU is not clear and has not been explored in a single large-scale dataset.

Methods: Leveraging the genetics, neuroimaging and behavioral data of 11,000+ children aged 9-11 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development cohort, this study investigates the associations between the polygenic risk and trait for ADHD, STU, and white matter microstructure through cross-sectionally and longitudinal analyses.

Findings: Children with higher polygenic risk scores for ADHD tend to have longer STU and more severe ADHD symptoms. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values in several white matter tracts are negatively correlated with both the ADHD polygenic risk score and STU, including the inferior frontal-striatal tract, inferior frontal-occipital fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus and corpus callosum. Most of these tracts are linked to visual-related functions. Longitudinal analyses indicate a directional effect of white matter microstructure on the ADHD scale, and a bi-directional effect between the ADHD scale and STU. Furthermore, reduction of FA in several white matter tracts mediates the association between the ADHD polygenic risk score and STU.

Interpretation: These findings shed new light on the shared neural overlaps between ADHD symptoms and prolonged STU, and provide evidence that the polygenic risk for ADHD is related, via white matter microstructure and the ADHD trait, to STU.

Funding: This study was mainly supported by NSFC and National Key R&D Program of China.

Keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Brain tractography; Longitudinal analysis; Polygenic risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Screen time utilization.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / diagnostic imaging
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / genetics
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Child
Corpus Callosum
Humans
Screen Time
White Matter* / diagnostic imaging

Abstract

MeSH terms

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