Genetic overlap established between theta brain signals and ADHD

The research, published in Biological Psychiatry, indicates a core dysregulation of the temporal coordination of cognitive control processes - crucial mental computations that help individuals stay on task when distractions are present - in adults with ADHD that persists in those whose symptoms developed in childhood and that this is driven by shared genetic pathways.

Cognitive control processes, including those measured by theta, are known to be impaired in those with psychiatric conditions, and neurodevelopmental diagnoses like ADHD and autism.

The study followed 566 participants (233 pairs of twins from the Twins’ Early Development Study (TEDS)). Parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire reporting on their children’s behavioural traits, while a brain scan was conducted later in young adulthood to test cognitive control signals, including frontal theta.

The study indicated continuity in those with ADHD symptoms throughout the lifespan, with genetic overlap between ADHD symptoms in childhood and an ADHD diagnosis in young adulthood. Furthermore, in confirmation of its role in the condition, there were strong genetic relationships between variability in reaction times and both childhood and adult ADHD.