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Event Related Potentials ERPs and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD
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Event Related Potentials ERPs and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD

Published on: March 12, 2020

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Sleep and Attention in Children With ADHD and Typically Developing Peers

Jessica Waldon1,2, Jennifer Vriend1,3, Fiona Davidson1

  • 11 Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Journal of Attention Disorders
|March 13, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Poor sleep impacts attention in children, especially those with ADHD. Good sleep quality is crucial for improving attention skills in all children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Sleep Science

Background:

  • Attention deficits are common in children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
  • The intricate relationship between sleep quality and cognitive functions, particularly attention, warrants further investigation in pediatric populations.
  • Understanding these links can inform targeted interventions for children with attention difficulties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between sleep patterns and attention capabilities.
  • To compare these relationships in children with ADHD and typically developing (TD) children.
  • To identify if sleep quality moderates attention performance based on ADHD diagnosis.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 50 children (aged 6-12 years) including 25 with ADHD and 25 TD controls participated.
  • Objective sleep assessment was conducted using actigraphy.
  • Attention was evaluated through parent-reported scales (Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised) and an objective measure (Attention Network Test-Interaction) assessing alerting, orienting, and executive attention.

Main Results:

  • Children with ADHD exhibited deficits in alerting and executive attention, alongside poorer parent-reported attention.
  • Actigraphy-measured poor sleep significantly predicted lower alerting attention scores in both ADHD and TD children.
  • A significant interaction between poor sleep and ADHD diagnosis emerged, predicting executive attention performance.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep quality is a critical factor influencing attention in children.
  • Optimizing sleep is recommended to enhance attention, with particular emphasis for children diagnosed with ADHD.
  • These findings underscore the need for sleep health assessments in pediatric attention evaluations.
Abstract

Keywords:
ADHDAttention Network Test–Interaction (ANT-I)actigraphyattentionsleep

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