Sources of auditory selective attention and the effects of methylphenidate in children with
Chantal Kemner1, Lisa M Jonkman, J Leon Kenemans
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Insights
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show abnormal auditory selective attention, but not due to frontal cortex issues. Methylphenidate (MPh) did not normalize brain activity in ADHD patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with difficulties in selective attention.
- Event-related potentials, specifically processing negativity (PN), are used to study auditory selective attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between abnormal auditory selective attention in children with ADHD and frontal lobe functioning.
- To examine the effects of methylphenidate (MPh) on attentional functioning in children with ADHD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) to estimate sources of electrical brain activity.
- Compared brain activity in healthy children, medication-naïve children with ADHD, and children with ADHD during a placebo-controlled methylphenidate (MPh) trial.
Main Results:
- Processing negativity (PN) in children with ADHD, indicative of selective attention, is generated in the auditory cortex.
- Children with ADHD exhibited reduced activity in the auditory cortex during selective attention tasks.
- Methylphenidate (MPh) administration shifted the location of brain activity sources towards more frontal regions.
Conclusions:
- The study found no evidence supporting a significant role of the frontal cortex in the selective attention deficits observed in children with ADHD.
- Methylphenidate (MPh) did not appear to normalize the underlying brain activity related to selective attention in children with ADHD.
Background:
The aim of this study was to determine 1) whether abnormal auditory selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as reflected in the processing negativity (PN) of the event-related potential, is related to impaired frontal functioning; and 2) how methylphenidate (MPh) affects attentional functioning in ADHD.
Methods:
Sources of electrical brain activity were estimated in healthy control children, in ADHD children without medication, and in children with ADHD during a placebo-controlled medication trial involving MPh.
Results:
The source models showed that the PN is generated in the auditory cortex. Children with ADHD showed less activity related to selective attention in this brain region. Administration of MPh resulted in more frontally located sources.
Conclusions:
The results showed no evidence for an important role of the frontal cortex in abnormalities in selective attention in children with ADHD. Also, the data did not indicate that MPh normalizes brain activity in these children.
