Visual behaviour of ADHD children during an attention test: an almost forgotten variable. Attention-Deficit...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with various cognitive and behavioral challenges.
• Previous research suggests that individuals with ADHD may exhibit differences in visual attention and task engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of "looking away" behavior in children with ADHD on their performance in Continuous Performance Tests (CPTs).
• To determine if the predictability of stimuli influences the relationship between looking away behavior and task accuracy in ADHD.

Main Methods:

• Children diagnosed with ADHD and typically developing children completed two CPTs: one with a regular interstimulus interval (ISI) and one with an irregular ISI.
• Participants were instructed to respond to target stimuli presented on a monitor.
• Visual behavior was meticulously recorded and analyzed offline to assess "looking away" patterns.

Main Results:

• ADHD children strategically timed "looking away" during regular ISI CPTs, successfully avoiding missed stimuli.
• In irregular ISI CPTs, "looking away" significantly impaired task accuracy for children with ADHD.
• The "looking away" behavior was not correlated with the slower reaction times observed in ADHD children.

Conclusions:

• "Looking away" behavior negatively affects the test performance accuracy of children with ADHD, particularly when stimuli are unpredictable.
• The observed slowness in ADHD children's reaction times is unlikely to be explained by their visual attention patterns during CPTs.