A common mental health disorder associated with disruptive behaviours such as fighting, bullying and rule-breaking in children could be spotted in brain scans, a study suggests. Scientists have found distinct structural differences in the brains of children who have conduct disorder (CD), an under-recognised condition also associated with lying, stealing, skipping school and a lack of remorse. The findings, published in journal The Lancet Psychiatry, are based on brain scans of nearly 2,500 children in what the team said was the largest study of its kind.
Lead author Dr Yidian Gao, from the School of Psychology and Centre for Human Brain Health at the University of Birmingham, said their research “provides the most compelling evidence to date that CD is associated with widespread structural brain differences”. Scientists said that while it is still unclear what causes these differences, they suspect childhood adversities such as maltreatment may play a role. Dr Marlene Staginnus, joint lead author from the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath , said: “Although we don’t yet know how the differences that we have identified could be used to improve treatment for children with CD, it is clear that children who have this disorder cannot simply be labelled ‘naughty’.
” Around 5% of children aged between five and 16 are thought to have conduct disorder in the UK. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists , it is much more than ordinary childish misch.
