On the role of low-frequency oscillatory brain activity as a biomarker for impaired working memory processes in ADHD – A simultaneous EEG-fMRI investigation

• Applicant: Dr. Nicolas Zink, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; Experimental and Theoretical Network Neuroscience ; Clinical Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 469952875

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is prevalent and imposes significant economic and quality-of-life costs on patients. The ADHD population is characterized by heterogeneity in behavioral, cognitive, and neural biomarkers, warranting further efforts to understand the underlying neural mechanisms. Impaired working memory (WM), the ability to transiently store and manipulate information in memory, is one of the key cognitive functions affected in ADHD. Modulations of low-frequency oscillatory activity have been shown to be a robust neurophysiological correlate of WM processing in both non-ADHD and ADHD populations. However, we do not know how low-frequency oscillations are represented in the brain and how they provide cognitive functions such as WM. Therefore, there exists a need within ADHD research to understand the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of impaired WM function in ADHD, and how this leads to ADHD symptoms, neurocognitive outcomes, and treatment approaches.The objective of the proposed research is to understand the principles of communication within the neural networks engaged during changes in oscillatory activity, and how they differ in ADHD-related WM disfunction. To this end, cutting-edge analytical and data-acquisition techniques will be employed that include a) graph theoretical analysis to measure the network efficiency of low-frequency oscillatory activity and b) the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combined with electroencephalography (EEG), which allows to provide information on the location and functional connectivity of low-frequency modulations.The results are likely to have significant benefits for the treatment and understanding of WM processes in general and ADHD in particular. For example, a better understanding of the cognitive and neural functions associated with WM in ADHD could suggest multi-pronged treatment approaches designed to improve long-term outcomes depending on an individual's risk factors. Neural biomarkers, particularly those based on EEG oscillatory activity, can be deployed in community settings at a lower cost and used to screen people of wide age ranges, including those who cannot stay perfectly still in the scanner. Further, EEG biomarkers may guide novel intervention targets for medication treatments, cognitive training, or newer treatments such as neuromodulation.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professorin Dr. Agatha Lenartowicz, Ph.D.