Interference control in 6-11 year-old children with and without ADHD: behavioral and ERP study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with executive function deficits.
• Understanding the developmental trajectories of interference control and conflict monitoring is crucial for ADHD research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare interference control and conflict monitoring development in children with and without ADHD.
• To investigate developmental functional patterns using event-related potentials (ERPs).

Main Methods:

• Utilized a hybrid Simon-spatial Stroop task to assess cognitive control.
• Recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) to analyze neural activity.
• Compared performance metrics (accuracy, reaction time) and ERPs between children with and without ADHD.

Main Results:

• Children with ADHD demonstrated lower accuracy and slower, more variable reaction times, particularly in incongruent conditions.
• While both groups improved with age, significant development in interference control occurred earlier in children with ADHD (6-8 years) compared to controls (9-10/11 years).
• No significant differences in N2 potentials or conflict monitoring development were found between groups, suggesting normal conflict monitoring ability in children with ADHD.

Conclusions:

• Children with ADHD exhibit delayed development in interference control compared to neurotypical children.
• Conflict monitoring abilities and their developmental patterns are comparable between children with and without ADHD.
• Event-related potential (ERP) data indicates that children with ADHD possess intact conflict monitoring functions.