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Inhibition of return in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Chiang-Shan Ray Li1, Hsueh-Ling Chang, Shih-Chieh Lin
1Brain and Behavior Laboratory, Medical Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. chiang-shan.li@yale.edu
Insights
Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) show a slightly reduced inhibition of return (IOR) in oculomotor planning. This suggests their attention mechanism is not fully compromised, despite some observed differences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Previous research indicates attention and eye movement control deficits in children with ADHD.
- Inhibition of return (IOR) is a crucial mechanism for attentional shifts and eye movement control, preventing attention from returning to previously attended locations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the inhibition of return (IOR) in oculomotor planning is impaired in children diagnosed with ADHD.
- To compare IOR magnitude between children with ADHD and typically developing controls.
Main Methods:
- A behavioral task involving saccadic eye movements was administered to 11 children with ADHD and 12 age- and gender-matched controls.
- Participants made saccades to peripheral targets following valid, invalid, or neutral cues.
- Latency differences between cued and uncued saccades, specifically the IOR component, were analyzed across varying cue-target onset asynchronies.
Main Results:
- Children with ADHD exhibited a biphasic saccadic latency profile, similar to control subjects.
- A slightly smaller magnitude of inhibition of return (IOR) was observed in the ADHD group compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that the inhibitory attention mechanism underlying IOR is not entirely compromised in children with ADHD.
- Preliminary results indicate potential subtle differences in IOR magnitude in ADHD, warranting further investigation.
Abstract:
Earlier studies have suggested an impairment in the attention and eye movement control of children with ADHD. An important phenomenon in the control of attentional shifts and eye movements is the inhibition of return (IOR), which states that our brain works in a way that prevents our attention from returning to a spatial location that has been attended to, either overtly or covertly. This current study addresses whether the IOR in oculomotor planning is compromised in children with ADHD. Eleven ADHD and 12 age- and gender-matched control subjects participated in a behavioral task, in which they made saccades to a peripheral target after a valid, invalid or neutral cue. The latency difference between cued and uncued saccades over a range of cue-target onset asynchrony as well as the positive component of this latency profile (i.e., IOR) was compared between groups. The results show that ADHD children demonstrate a biphasic latency profile that is grossly similar to that observed in control subjects, although the magnitude of IOR appears to be slightly smaller in ADHD subjects. These preliminary results suggest that the inhibitory attention mechanism subserving IOR is at least not fully compromised in ADHD children.