Topic: Genetics and APOE
Identifying early life biomarkers of suboptimal aging trajectories could help design interventions to delay or even prevent the onset of pathological conditions in older adulthood. To address this issue, we capitalize on evidence that the prevalence rates and presentation of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions tend to vary between males and females, thereby raising the possibility that processes involved in sexual differentiation could help connect brain maturation and aging outcomes. Here, we focus on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental condition with male-biased prevalence, and examine the relevance of its genetic risk and functional brain profile to aging outcomes. We analyzed multimodal data from a child sample enriched in ADHD cases and a neurologically intact adult sample. Among 6-to-12-year-olds (N =522), genetic vulnerability to pathological aging, indexed via polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), predicted ADHD diagnosis across sexes, regardless of psychiatric history and PRSs for multiple disorders (including ADHD). Irrespective of age, boys and girls diagnosed with ADHD showed preferential alignment with male-, rather than female-, typical functional connectivity patterns in metabolically active transmodal areas which are enriched in 5-HT 2,4 , D1, and mGLU5 receptors. In an independent sample aged 36-90 years (N = 345), the ADHD brain profile correlated with higher levels of testosterone, physiological markers of reproductive aging and poorer performance on AD-relevant cognitive tasks among older individuals of either sex. Our results imply that neurodevelopmental conditions could provide insights into vulnerability to suboptimal aging trajectories and could help guide early interventions targeting at-risk individuals.
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APA 7th
Petrican, R., Fornito, A., John, A., & Pendered, S. (2026). Regional similarity to male-typical brain architecture links childhood ADHD to neurophysiological aging in later adulthood. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.27.754764
Vancouver
Petrican R, Fornito A, John A, Pendered S. Regional similarity to male-typical brain architecture links childhood ADHD to neurophysiological aging in later adulthood. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.27.754764.
BibTeX
@article{petrican2026-3c867269,
author = {Petrican, R. and Fornito, A. and John, A. and Pendered, S.},
title = {{Regional similarity to male-typical brain architecture links childhood ADHD to neurophysiological aging in later adulthood}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.27.754764},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.27.754764}
}
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Key findings
- Our results imply that neurodevelopmental conditions could provide insights into vulnerability to suboptimal aging trajectories and could help guide early interventions targeting at-risk individuals.
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Study details
- Participants522
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 29 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 18 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 29 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 522 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 18 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 18 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 29 out of 100. |
| Total | 29 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
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