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Event-related potentials and performance of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: children and normal controls in
L M Jonkman1, C Kemner, M N Verbaten
1Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Psychopharmacology, Rudolph Magnus Institute for Neurosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Insights
Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show deficits in selective attention tasks. Compared to controls, ADHD subjects had poorer performance and altered brain responses, particularly in the P3b process.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention and hyperactivity.
- Selective attention, the ability to focus on relevant stimuli while ignoring distractors, is often impaired in ADHD.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide insights into the neural processes underlying attention and cognitive control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in auditory and visual selective attention between children with ADHD and typically developing controls.
- To examine specific event-related potential (ERP) components, including Processing Negativity (PN) and P3b, associated with attention in ADHD.
- To explore the hypothesis of a P3b processing deficit in ADHD children.
Main Methods:
- A selective attention task involving auditory and visual stimuli was administered to children aged 7-13 with ADHD and normal controls.
- Subjects were instructed to respond to infrequent target stimuli presented in the relevant sensory channel.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs), including PN and P3b, were recorded from midline electrodes and analyzed.
Main Results:
- In the auditory task, controls exhibited better detection, fewer false alarms, and larger P3b amplitudes to nontargets compared to ADHD subjects.
- Controls also showed a larger central PN and earlier frontal positivity to target stimuli in the auditory modality.
- In the visual task, controls demonstrated superior performance and larger P3b amplitudes to infrequent stimuli.
Conclusions:
- ADHD children exhibit significant deficits in both auditory and visual selective attention compared to controls.
- Findings suggest a potential deficit in the P3b processing mechanism in ADHD, possibly stemming from earlier attentional disturbances.
- ERP analysis highlights distinct neural processing differences in attention between ADHD and typically developing children.
Abstract:
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children and normal controls (7-13 yrs old) performed an auditory and visual selective attention task. Subjects were instructed to respond to the infrequent (10%) stimuli in the relevant channel. Processing negativity (PN) and several other ERP peaks were scored at the midline electrodes. In the auditory task, controls had more correct detections (hits), less false alarms, larger P3b amplitudes to nontarget stimuli (but not to hits), a larger central PN and larger early frontal positivity (100-250 ms) to target stimuli than ADHD subjects. In the visual modality, controls had more correct detections, less false alarms, larger P3b amplitudes to nontarget stimuli (but not to hits), and larger frontal P3(1) amplitudes to infrequent than to frequent stimuli. It was hypothesized that in ADHD children in both the auditory and the visual task, there is a deficit in the activation of the P3b process. Incorrect triggering of the P3b process might be caused by disturbances in other aspects of the attention process, preceding the P3b.