Insufficient cognitive resources allocation with compensatory sensory enhancement in children with attention...

A subset of children exhibits ADHD symptoms without meeting full diagnostic criteria. These children demonstrate behavioral difficulties and functional impairments but often lack access to evidence-based interventions. This study examined the neural mechanisms underlying the ADHD symptoms in these children by using classic and modified oddball paradigms that incorporated novel stimuli and rare repetitive distractors and analyzed event-related potential (ERP) components across different stages of visual attentional processing. Forty-six children participated in the study and were categorized into a group with normal visual attention (Group 1) and a group with attention difficulties (Group 2) by the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA-CPT). Behavioral results revealed that Group 2 children had lower accuracy rates in both tasks, though no interaction emerged between stimulus condition and group. Reaction times did not differ significantly between groups. ERP results indicated that Group 2 exhibited reduced N2 amplitudes and prolonged N2 latencies across all conditions. In the modified task, they also showed attenuated P3 amplitudes to target stimuli. Additionally, Group 2 displayed shorter P2 latencies across conditions. These findings suggest deficits in top-down attention and early bottom-up sensory processing in children with ADHD symptoms. Furthermore, we propose a compensatory mechanism wherein heightened early sensory sensitivity may partially counteract deficient neural resource allocation in later attentional stages. Together, these results imply that training programs targeting cognitive abilities could help alleviate behavioral symptoms.