ADHD Precision Mapping

Neural correlates of behavior have been a focus of research for decades, with recent advances leveraging functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and behavioral measures, such as questionnaires, to explore the connections between brain activity and human behavior. While these methods are powerful, they each have limitations. fMRI signals can be influenced by individual factors such as lifestyle and physiology, and questionnaires may be affected by recall bias. Precision mapping and digital phenotyping protocols address these limitations by deeply sampling individuals over extended periods, generating hours of detailed fMRI, physiological, and behavioral data. These datasets offer a unique opportunity to understand brain activity fluctuations over days and weeks. However, most existing datasets are limited in cognitive scope, lack physiological recordings, and often focus exclusively on healthy individuals. As a result, little is known about how individual brain connectivity fluctuates in relation to mental disorder symptoms, behaviors, and physiological factors over time, despite evidence showing that symptoms can vary within days or weeks. For example, previous research (Sonuga-Barke et al., 2010; Schmid et al., 2016) suggests that ADHD symptoms in everyday life are not stable over short periods (e.g., hours or days) but instead fluctuate within individuals based on factors such as current stimulation levels, inhibitory demands, and experiences of delay. To address this challenge, we propose data collection from a person diagnosed with ADHD, replicating the data collection protocol developed by Triana et al. (2024). In this protocol, fMRI, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological data from one subject is collected over 133 days. We will employ smartphones and wearables to collect objective data about the subject’s behavior and physiology. The subject will also perform a psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) and n-back cognitive test. In addition, we will also collect data about the subject’s symptoms and mental state on a daily basis. MRI data will be collected on Mondays and Thursdays and include a 10-min resting state and three tasks: PVT, n-back, and movie watching. MRI data collection will only span fifteen weeks, adding up to 30 hours of rich, fMRI data. We expect that ADHD manifests as enhanced temporal fluctuation of symptoms, mediating factors (e.g. sleep, mood, stress, exercise), and related brain activity. We expect that this fluctuation takes place at multiple different time scales from minutes (task-related) to weeks (symptom questionnaires). Likewise, when compared to a non-ADHD participant (Triana et al. 2024), we expect these fluctuations to be more prominent in the ADHD participant, i.e. reaction time and brain responses related to the tasks more strongly fluctuating.