White-matter connectivity and methylphenidate-induced changes in attentional performance according to α_2A-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphisms in Korean children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

The authors examined the association between the MspI C/G and DraI C/T genotypes of the α_2A-adrenergic receptor gene and white-matter connectivity and attentional performance before and after medication in 53 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Subjects who carried the T allele at the DraI polymorphism showed fewer changes in the mean commission error scores after 8 weeks of medication and decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the right middle frontal cortex than subjects without the T allele. Subjects with the C allele at the MspI polymorphism showed decreased FA values in the right postcentral gyrus than subjects without.