Childhood ADHD brain patterns link to markers of late-life aging
In two human cohorts, Alzheimer's genetic risk predicted childhood ADHD, while an ADHD-related brain profile correlated with reproductive aging markers and poorer late-life cognition.
bioRxiv
In a study of 522 children and 345 adults, researchers examined connections between childhood ADHD and neurophysiological aging. Among children aged 6 to 12 years, polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer’s disease predicted ADHD diagnosis regardless of sex, psychiatric history, or genetic risk for other conditions. Both boys and girls with ADHD showed functional connectivity aligning with male-typical patterns in metabolically active transmodal brain regions. In the independent group of adults aged 36 to 90 years, this same ADHD-related brain pattern correlated with higher testosterone levels, physiological markers of reproductive aging, and poorer performance on Alzheimer's-relevant cognitive tasks across sexes.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that neurodevelopmental profiles and late-life neurodegenerative vulnerability share underlying biological features. Identifying early-life neural signatures linked to later cognitive decline could help researchers pinpoint pathways for early intervention.
Caveats
The study is a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed. In addition, the findings are observational and rely on two separate cross-sectional cohorts rather than longitudinal tracking of the same individuals over time.
The paper
University of Liverpool
bioRxiv · 29 Sep 2026 · Preprint, not peer-reviewed