A team of psychologists and other medical professionals, led by Karim Ibrahim of Yale University School of Medicine, used advanced computational methods to track specific changes in the brain connectivity of children with disruptive behavior disorders. Results shed light on why these young individuals struggle with disruptive behaviors.
Functional MRI Brain Scans Reveal that Children with Disruptive Behavior Disorders Get Stuck in Glitchy Brain States
Scientists already know that children with disruptive behaviors, such as aggression and defiance, have brains that are wired slightly differently in areas responsible for self-control. However, for Ibrahim and her team, it is also important to understand the role of the timing and flexibility of the brain, or how it shifts from one state of mind to another.
Hence, using functional MRI brain scans from 887 children between the ages of 9 and 10 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the researchers identified 12 definite and unique brain states. These states represent recurring patterns of connections across brain networks that the brains of participants go through at rest.
Those with disruptive behavior spent more time in brain states that were mismatched or had poor neural connections. The areas responsible for focus and self-control, the frontoparietal and dorsal attention networks, were not communicating properly. Behavioral issues are linked to spending more time in these glitchy brain states.
Ibrahim and her team double-checked their work with a second group of kids and found the same pattern of brain activity and brain states. Similar patterns were specifically found in children with behaviors related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. These behaviors often co-occur with disruptive behavior problems.
The results position brain timing patterns as potential biomarkers for a more definite diagnosis of behavioral problems, evaluating existing treatments, and researching newer treatment approaches. It can be used to see if a medication is fixing timing and flexibility of the brain and make better clinical decisions based on real-time brain functioning.
Further research could focus on understanding why the brains of children with disruptive behavior disorders get stuck in maladaptive brain states. In addition, it is also possible for other studies to look into how biological and environmental factors influence the inclination toward these brain states and the identification of interventions.
FURTHER READING AND REFERENCE
- Shappell, H. M., Liu, Z., Khodaei, M., He, G., Gee, D. G., Lindquist, M. A., Sukhodolsky, D. G., McCarthy, G., and Ibrahim, K. 2026. “Dynamic Resting-State Network Markers of Disruptive Behavior Problems in Youth.” Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science. 100689. DOI: 1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100689