Predicting acute side effects of stimulant medication in pediatric attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: data from quantitative electroencephalography, event-related potentials, and a continuous-performance test

Geir Ogrim,1–3 Knut A Hestad,3,4 Jan Ferenc Brunner,3,5,6 Juri Kropotov3,7,8 1Neuropsychiatric Unit, Østfold Hospital Trust, Fredrikstad, Norway; 2National Resource Center for ADHD, Tourettes' Syndrome and Narcolepsy, Oslo, Norway; 3Institute of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; 4Division of Mental Health, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway; 5Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, St Olav's Hospital, Trondheim, Norway; 6Department of Neuroscience, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway; 7Institute of the Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia; 8Department of Neuropsychology, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, Krakow, Poland Background: The aim of this study was to search for predictors of acute side effects of stimulant medication in pediatric attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emphasizing variables from quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), event-related potentials (ERPs), and behavior data from a visual continuous-performance test (VCPT). Methods: Seventy medication-naïve ADHD patients aged 7–16 years were tested with QEEG, including a go/no-go task condition (VCPT) from which behavior data and ERPs were extracted, followed by a systematic trial on stimulant medication lasting at least 4 weeks. Based on data from rating scales and interviews, two psychologists who were blind to the QEEG/ERP test results independently rated the patients as having no or small side effects (n = 37) or troublesome side effects (n = 33). We determined if the side effects were related to sex, age, IQ, ADHD subtype, comorbidities, clinical outcome, and variables in QEEG, ERPs, and VCPT. Results: There was a moderate negative correlation between clinical outcome and side effects. Three variables were significantly associated with side effects in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. In the ERP independent component – contingent negative variation – which reflected action preparation and time evaluation, patients with high amplitudes (close to normal values) experienced more side effects than patients with lower amplitudes. A faster-than-normal reaction time in VCPT was associated with side effects, as was a high amplitude in an early ERP component (early visual independent component), reported to be influenced by attention, perceptual sensitivity, and anxiety. Conclusion: The group with troublesome side effects had normal action-preparation electrical brain activity, a faster-than-normal reaction time, and an increased level of anxiety (measured by ERP) compared with the no side-effects group. Keywords: ADHD, stimulants, side effects, QEEG, ERP, go/no-go tes

Use of EEG to Diagnose ADHD

Electroencephalography (EEG) has, historically, played a focal role in the assessment of neural function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We review here the most recent developments in the utility of EEG in the diagnosis of ADHD, with emphasis on the most commonly used and emerging EEG metrics and their reliability in diagnostic classification. Considering the clinical heterogeneity of ADHD and the complexity of information available from the EEG signals, we suggest that considerable benefits are to be gained from multivariate analyses and a focus towards understanding of the neural generators of EEG. We conclude that while EEG cannot currently be used as a diagnostic tool, vast developments in analytical and technological tools in its domain anticipate future progress in its utility in the clinical setting