Artificial Intelligence Boosts ADHD Detection Using MRI

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (Cincinnati, OH, USA) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (Cincinnati, OH, USA) have proved that deep learning, a type of artificial intelligence, can boost the power of MRI in predicting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The researchers believe that the approach could also have applications for other neurological conditions.

Brain MRI has a potential role in diagnosis, as research suggests that ADHD results from some type of breakdown or disruption in the connectome. The connectome is constructed from spatial regions across the MR image known as parcellations. Brain parcellations can be defined based on anatomical criteria, functional criteria, or both. The brain can be studied at different scales based on different brain parcellations. Prior studies have focused on the so-called single-scale approach, where the connectome is constructed based on only one parcellation. For the new study, researchers from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center took a more comprehensive view. They developed a multi-scale method, which used multiple connectome maps based on multiple parcellations.


To build the deep learning model, the researchers used data from the NeuroBureau ADHD-200 dataset. The model used the multi-scale brain connectome data from the project's 973 participants along with relevant personal characteristics, such as gender and IQ. The multi-scale approach improved ADHD detection performance significantly over the use of a single-scale method. By improving diagnostic accuracy, deep-learning-aided MRI-based diagnosis could be critical in implementing early interventions for ADHD patients. In the future, the researchers expect to see the deep learning model improve as it is exposed to larger neuroimaging datasets. They also hope to better understand the specific breakdowns or disruptions in the connectome identified by the model that are associated with ADHD.

"Our results emphasize the predictive power of the brain connectome," said study senior author Lili He, Ph.D., from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "The constructed brain functional connectome that spans multiple scales provides supplementary information for the depicting of networks across the entire brain."

Related Links:
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center