Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-dbm8p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-09-21T23:32:16.557Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reward Processing in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Activation Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

G. Zamora ,
E. Johnson-Venegas ,
C. Baten ,
A. Klassen ,
J. H. Shepherd ,
A. Catchpole ,
E. Davis ,
I. Dillsaver ,
C. Hunt  and
P. Hamilton
...Show all authors
G. Zamora*
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
E. Johnson-Venegas
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
C. Baten
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
A. Klassen
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
J. H. Shepherd
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
A. Catchpole
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University, Provo
E. Davis
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University
I. Dillsaver
Affiliation:
California State University, Fresno, Fresno, United States
C. Hunt
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University, Provo
P. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
M. Sacchet
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston
E. Woo
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
J. Miller
Affiliation:
Psychology, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto
D. Hedges
Affiliation:
Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States
C. Miller
Affiliation:
Psychology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders diagnosed in children and is characterized by complex, interacting symptoms. Although executive functioning systems are most frequently examined in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation studies of ADHD, atypical reward processing may also play a central role in ADHD and influence other symptoms, such as hyperactivity and impulsivity. This meta-analysis aims to advance our understanding of the neural basis of reward processing in ADHD, as measured by fMRI activation studies.

Objectives

The present study aims to advance our understanding of the neural basis in reward processing in participants with ADHD by identifying aberrant functional activation in various brain regions compared with healthy controls.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed for whole-brain, task-based fMRI activation studies comparing participants diagnosed with ADHD to healthy controls in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. We then used multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) with ensemble thresholding (α = .05–.0001; FWE-corrected) to explore neural activation patterns associated with ADHD across all tasks and during reward processing tasks.

Results

We obtained 57 primary studies (N = 4,366) that met our inclusion criteria. We found that patients with ADHD (n = 1,591), relative to healthy controls (n = 2,775), exhibited statistically significant (p < .005; FWE-corrected) differential activation in multiple brain regions of the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia, including robust effects across various tasks and task-specific effects observed during reward processing.

Conclusions

These findings strengthen our understanding of the neural basis of reward processing in ADHD, which may inform new neurocognitive models of this heterogeneous disorder. Future studies should investigate disorder-specific and transdiagnostic neural features of ADHD and reward processing and explore clinical applications such as non-invasive brain stimulation and neurofeedback training.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S236
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.