{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"medRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T08:00:19Z","timestamp":1775808019277,"version":"3.50.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]]},"group-title":"Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology","reference-count":36,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775520000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>While ADHD symptoms often decline from childhood into adulthood, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms, such as altered brain maturation or neural reorganization, remain incompletely understood. This study investigated how grey matter development relates to ADHD symptom trajectories into adulthood.<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>We analyzed data of individuals with ADHD and controls from the longitudinal Dutch NeuroIMAGE cohort, utilizing dimensional ADHD symptom scores (Conners Parent Rating Scale) from three waves and T1-weighted structural MRI scans from the final two waves. Using General Linear Models with permutation-based inference, we examined: 1) cross-sectional associations between ADHD symptoms and vertex-wise cortical thickness and surface area, and subcortical volumes at Wave 1 (n=765, mean age =16.95 years); and 2) longitudinal associations between symptom progression and brain morphometric changes (Wave 0 to 1: n=644, mean age=11.55\u201317.24 years; Wave 1 to 2: n=149, mean age=16.45\u201320.11 years).<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Cross-sectionally, at Wave 1, more ADHD symptoms were related to widespread reductions in surface area, most prominently in the frontal cortex, and smaller volumes of the cerebellum, amygdala, and hippocampus. Longitudinally, symptom improvement from Wave 1 to Wave 2 was associated with stronger reductions in surface area, particularly in prefrontal and occipital regions, and with more pronounced cortical thinning across multiple brain regions.<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>These findings suggest an association between symptom trajectories and structural brain changes, indicating that clinical improvement in ADHD behaviors might coincide with ongoing neural refinement during the transition to adulthood.<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.04.07.26350043","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T03:50:11Z","timestamp":1775620211000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["ADHD symptom trajectories and brain morphometry: A longitudinal analysis"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9443-9281","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aylin","family":"Mehren","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jill","family":"Kessen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aleksandra M.","family":"Sobolewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6681-4344","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daan","family":"van Rooij","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Experimental Psychology Department, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0218-5630","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jaap","family":"Oosterlaan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Emma Children\u2019s Hospital, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Department of Pediatrics, Emma Children\u2019s Hospital Amsterdam UMC Follow-Me program & Emma Neuroscience Group, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Amsterdam Reproduction and Development research institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Catharina A.","family":"Hartman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation (ICPE), University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pieter J.","family":"Hoekstra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Accare Child Study Center, Groningen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marjolein","family":"Luman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The 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