U.S. researchers reported brain scans of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder show anatomical abnormalities beyond a chemical imbalance.

   The study by North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Center was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

   A second study by the same authors showed stimulant medications prescribed to balance brain chemistry appear to normalize some of these brain irregularities.

   "We found abnormality of the fiber pathways in the frontal cortex, basal ganglia, brain stem and cerebellum," said lead author Manzar Ashtari. 

   "These areas are involved in the processes that regulate attention, impulsive behavior, motor activity and inhibition -- the key symptoms in ADHD children."

   The study used diffusion tensor imaging to compare 18 children with diagnosed ADHD with 15 control children to evaluate the brain's white-matter fiber development. Researchers found differences in the brain fiber pathways that transmit and receive information among brain areas. 

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