Task-related electroencephalographic deviances in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
1Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University.
Neuropsychology
|October 21, 2014
Summary
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit abnormal electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns during low-demand tasks, suggesting a suboptimal energetic state rather than impaired executive function. These EEG differences in ADHD were task-dependent.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychophysiology
Background:
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with electroencephalographic (EEG) deviances.
- The functional significance of these EEG abnormalities in ADHD remains unclear, particularly concerning task demands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional significance of EEG deviances in adults with ADHD.
- To compare quantitative EEG during tasks varying in activation level and executive control demands.
Main Methods:
- Compared behavioral performance and EEG activity in 24 adults with ADHD and 20 controls.
- Utilized a slow-paced 2-choice reaction time (2-CRT) task and a moderately paced flanker task.
Main Results:
- Adults with ADHD showed slower, more variable performance and more errors on the 2-CRT task, with higher theta and beta power.
- No significant EEG differences were found during the flanker task, despite intact interference inhibition.
- Theta power positively correlated with errors of commission in the 2-CRT task for the ADHD group.
Conclusions:
- EEG deviances in ADHD are task-dependent, appearing during low activation but not high executive control load.
- Findings suggest ADHD-related EEG abnormalities may stem from a suboptimal energetic state.
- Impaired top-down executive control does not fully explain the observed EEG differences in ADHD.
