Quantitative susceptibility mapping of brain iron in adult ADHD

In this adult sample, QSM provided no robust evidence for widespread or regionally specific alterations in brain iron susceptibility in ADHD after multiple-comparison correction. Nevertheless, the reproducible pattern of nominal effects-centered on ventral temporal and default-mode network hub regions-suggests that inter-individual variation in cortical susceptibility may relate to clinical heterogeneity and neurodevelopmental timing rather than constituting a strong diagnostic signature. Larger, medication-stratified and developmentally informed studies are needed to clarify whether subtle iron-related susceptibility patterns track symptom dimensions, treatment exposure, and longitudinal trajectories.