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Measuring inhibitory control in children
S R Pliszka1, S H Borcherding, K Spratley
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 78284-7792, USA.
Insights
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit impaired inhibitory control, as evidenced by their performance on the Stop Signal Task. This task effectively measures response inhibition difficulties in children with ADHD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Inhibitory control is crucial for adaptive behavior.
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with deficits in executive functions, including inhibition.
- The Stop Signal Task is a widely used paradigm to assess response inhibition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate inhibitory control in children with ADHD using the Stop Signal Task.
- To examine the relationship between Stop Signal Task performance and behavioral measures of inattention and hyperactivity.
Main Methods:
- Participants completed the Stop Signal Task, which involves responding to a stimulus and inhibiting responses to a secondary 'stop' signal.
- The timing of the stop signal was varied to manipulate inhibition difficulty.
- Data were collected from children with ADHD and typically developing controls.
- Correlational analyses were performed between Stop Signal Task variables and behavioral ratings.
Main Results:
- Children with ADHD demonstrated significantly poorer inhibitory control compared to controls.
- Stop Signal Task performance correlated significantly with teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity.
- Task variables showed good correlation with laboratory observations of behavior.
Conclusions:
- The Stop Signal Task is a valid measure for identifying inhibitory control deficits in ADHD.
- Impaired response inhibition is a core feature of ADHD.
- The Stop Signal Task can aid in understanding the behavioral manifestations of ADHD.
Abstract:
The Stop Signal Task is a measure of inhibitory control in which subjects must press a button in response to a stimulus. On certain trials, the subject receives a second stimulus (the Stop Signal) after the primary stimulus and must withhold his/her response during those trials. The onset of the Stop Signal is varied, sometimes coming immediately after the primary stimulus (inhibition is easy); at other times, the Stop Signal arrives quite late, making inhibition difficult. Results from the Stop Signal Task were obtained from children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and from controls; children with ADHD had significantly more difficulty inhibiting their responses than did controls. In a second study, results from the Stop Signal Task were obtained from a large sample of both behaviorally disturbed and community children; variables from the Stop Signal Task correlated well with both laboratory observations and teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity.