Working memory deficits in adults with ADHD: is there evidence for subtype differences?
Julie B Schweitzer1, Russell B Hanford, Deborah R Medoff
1Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, 737 W, Lombard St,, Suite 442, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. jschweit@psych.umaryland.edu
Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF
|December 19, 2006
Summary
Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), combined (ADHD-CT) and inattentive (ADHD-IA) types, show working memory deficits, particularly in tasks requiring rapid processing. Performance differences between ADHD subtypes were not significant, but varied by gender.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Working memory is crucial for daily functioning.
- Children with ADHD often exhibit working memory deficits.
- Working memory in adult ADHD subtypes requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare working memory functioning in adults with ADHD, combined type (ADHD-CT) and inattentive type (ADHD-IA), against normal controls (NC).
- To explore how working memory deficits manifest across different ADHD subtypes in adults.
- To investigate the influence of gender on working memory performance in adults with and without ADHD.
Main Methods:
- Employed Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III and Wechsler Memory Scale-III subtests.
- Utilized the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT).
- Compared working memory performance across three groups: NC (N=18), ADHD-CT (N=17), and ADHD-IA (N=16).
Main Results:
- ADHD groups showed significant working memory weaknesses compared to NC, especially in tasks demanding rapid processing and active manipulation.
- Specific deficits noted in Letter-Number-Sequencing, PASAT omission errors, and longest correct PASAT sequence.
- No significant differences between ADHD subtypes, but performance varied by measure and gender; males generally outperformed females.
Conclusions:
- Working memory deficits in ADHD-CT and ADHD-IA subtypes appear dimensional rather than absolute.
- Future research should examine processing speed and load effects on subtype performance.
- Investigating the interaction of gender with processing speed and load in adult ADHD is recommended.
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