Response execution and inhibitionin children with AD/HD and other disruptive disorders: the role of behavioural activation.

Item does not contain fulltextThis study was aimed at (a) replicating findings of slow and variable response execution and slow response inhibition in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), (b) investigating whether these deficits are specifically related to AD/HD or may also be observed in Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and children comorbid for AD/HD+ODD, and (c) examining the role of activation level in task performance of children with AD/HD. To meet these aims, the stop paradigm was administered at three levels of activation, using a slow, medium, and fast presentation rate of stimuli, to 4 groups of children: 24 AD/HD children, 21 children with ODD, 27 children with comorbid AD/HD+ODD, and 41 normal controls. As hypothesized, children with AD/HD exhibited a slow response execution process with considerable variability in the speed of responding compared to normal controls. Slow response execution was also observed in the comorbid AD/HD+ODD group but not in the pure ODD group. Larger variability in the speed of responding was common to all disruptive groups compared with controls. In contrast to our hypothesis, no group differences emerged for inhibitory functioning. Finally, the slow event rate condition caused a further deterioration in the speed of the response execution process in both the AD/HD group and ODD group

Speed of inhibition predicts teacher-rated medication response in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Item does not contain fulltextThis study aimed at investigating whether one of the key deficits in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), slow response inhibition, predicted the response to methylphenidate (MPH) treatment. In order to address this issue, we used Stop Signal Reaction Times (SSRTs) measured at baseline in 20 medication-nave boys with ADHD as predictor, and parent and teacher ratings that were collected during a double-blind, placebo-controlled titration trial of MPH in the same group as outcome measures. Parent and teacher ratings were collected on primary scales, measuring ADHD symptoms, and secondary scales, measuring oppositional and disruptive behaviour. Placebo response and ADHD/Oppositional Defiant Disorder symptom severity at baseline were controlled for in the analyses. The SSRT did not predict the MPH response as measured by parent ratings, but it did predict the MPH response as measured by teacher ratings. This effect was specific for the ADHD scales. The slower SSRTs were, the less children benefited from MPH. Moreover, children with longer SSRTs needed higher doses of MPH for optimal symptom relief than children with shorter SSRTs. These findings have implications for clinicians who face the decision of which MPH dose to prescribe.18 p

Response Inhibition in Children With DSM-IV Subtypes of AD/HD and Related Disruptive Disorders: The Role of Reward

Item does not contain fulltextThe current study had four aims: (a) to replicate previous findings of slow response inhibition in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), (b) to explore whether poor response inhibition in children with AD/HD is a core problem or rather a result of an underlying problem related to reward, (c) to investigate the specificity of poor response inhibition and the role of reward in relation to AD/HD, and (d) to study whether findings would be different for three subtypes of AD/HD. In order to address these issues, a stop paradigm was administered under a reward condition and under a nonreward condition to an AD/HD group (n = 24), an Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)/Conduct Disorder (CD) group (n = 21), a comorbid AD/HD + ODD/CD group (n = 27), and a normal control (NC) group (n = 41). Firstly, contrary to prediction, none of the Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD) groups differed from the NC group with respect to the speed of the inhibition process. Secondly, it was shown that children with AD/HD and children with comorbid AD/HD + ODD/CD, but not children with ODD/CD alone, slowed down more dramatically in the reward condition than normal controls. This finding was interpreted as a strategy to increase the chance of being rewarded in children with AD/HD and children with comorbid AD/HD + ODD/CD, but not in children with pure ODD/CD. Finally, analysis of AD/HD subtypes did not change the main findings of this study

Executive functioning in adult ADHD: a meta-analytic review

. CONCLUSIONS: Neuropsychological difficulties in adult ADHD may not be confined to executive functioning. The field is in urgent need of better-designed executive functioning tests, methodological improvements, and direct comparisons with multiple clinical groups to answer questions of specificit

Substance use disorders in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a 4-year follow-up study

Aim To examine the relationship between a childhood diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with or without oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)/conduct disorder (CD) and the development of later alcohol/drug use disorder [psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD)] and nicotine dependence in a large European sample of ADHD probands, their siblings and healthy control subjects. Participants design and settingSubjects (n=1017) were participants in the Belgian, Dutch and German part of the International Multicenter ADHD Genetics (IMAGE) study. IMAGE families were identified through ADHD probands aged 5-17 years attending out-patient clinics, and control subjects from the same geographic areas. After a follow-up period (mean: 4.4 years) this subsample was re-assessed at a mean age of 16.4 years. Measurements PSUD and nicotine dependence were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Drug Abuse Screening Test and Fagerstrom test for Nicotine Dependence. Findings The ADHD sample was at higher risk of developing PSUD [hazard ratio (HR)=1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.05-3.00] and nicotine dependence (HR=8.61, 95% CI=2.44-30.34) than healthy controls. The rates of these disorders were highest for ADHD youth who also had CD, but could not be accounted for by this comorbidity. We did not find an increased risk of developing PSUD (HR=1.18, 95% CI=0.62-2.27) or nicotine dependence (HR=1.89, 95% CI=0.46-7.77) among unaffected siblings of ADHD youth. Conclusions A childhood diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a risk factor for psychoactive substance use disorder and nicotine dependence in adolescence and comorbid conduct disorder, but not oppositional defiant disorder, further increases the risk of developing psychoactive substance use disorder and nicotine dependence

Physical fitness and psychosocial health in a sample of Dutch adolescents

Adolescence is characterized by profound changes in body and behavior, and not surprisingly during this developmental phase the risk of developing psychosocial problems increases dramatically. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship of both physical fitness and body composition with psychosocial health in adolescents (12–15 years). Data were collected in 2019–2020 in a representative sample of 361 Dutch adolescents (46.3% boys, age = 13.44 ± 0.43 years). Physical fitness and body composition were assessed by subtests of the Eurofit test battery assessing cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m Shuttle Run Test), muscular fitness (Broad Jump and Sit-Ups), speed-agility (10x5-m Shuttle Run Test and Fast Tapping Test), and body composition (Body Mass Index). Psychosocial health was assessed in four domains: self-concept (Competence Experience Scale for Adolescents), symptoms of depression (Child Depression Inventory), anxiety (State and Trait Anxiety Inventory) and ADHD (Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms). Multilevel regression analyses were performed in MLwin. Results showed that better cardiorespiratory fitness was related to better self-concept (β = 0.225; p < 0.001), less symptoms of depression (β = −0.263; p = 0.003), and lower levels of state (β = −0.239; p = 0.008) and trait anxiety (β = –232; p = 0.008). Furthermore, higher BMI was related to lower self-concept (β = −0.075; p = 0.019). Taken together, the results suggest that better cardiorespiratory fitness and lean body composition have a positive relationship with self-concept and that better cardiorespiratory fitness is related to less symptoms of depression and anxiety

Test-retest reliability of a new delay aversion task and executive function measure.

Despite the wide adoption of measures of executive functions and motivational tendencies in studies of developmental disorders and child psychopathology, few studies have investigated their test-retest reliability. The present paper examines the reliability of a new measure of delay aversion, three measures of working memory, a response inhibition measure and a measure of dual task performance. The children, aged between 7 and 15 years, performed the tasks twice, with a 2-week period in between the sessions. Using a relatively conservative criterion, only the delay aversion task and one of the working memory measures (delayed response alternation) demonstrated satisfactory test-retest reliability. The other two working memory measures (sentence span and counting span) showed modest reliability. For the inhibition measure (stop task) the results were mixed, with poor to modest reliabilities obtained for the various derived measures. The dual task failed to demonstrate adequate test-retest reliability. These differential reliabilities need to be borne in mind when interpreting the results of studies using these measures. In particular the effect of low reliability on statistical power and the Type II error rate should be considered

Finding the attractor of anger: Bridging the gap between dynamic concepts and empirical data

Although it accounts for the prototypical course of emotions, the attractor concept has hardly ever been used empirically. Authors applied Empirical Differential Equations (EDE) to frequent (hourly) anger ratings to find the attractor of anger. The attractor concept, its neurological basis, and EDE are explained. The attractor of anger follows an underdamped oscillator, and is affected by the capacity to inhibit prepotent responses. Anger accelerates less fast when inhibitory control increases. Results stress the internal dynamics of emotions, and help to bridge the gap between concepts from dynamic systems theory and empirical dat

Error and post-error processing in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder:An electrical neuroimaging study

Objective: Inaccurate and inconsistent response styles in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been observed in a wide variety of cognitive tasks, in line with regulatory deficit models of ADHD. Event-related potential (ERP) studies of error processing have provided evidence for these models, but are limited in specificity. We aimed to improve the isolation, localization and identification of error (self-monitoring and adaptive control) and post-error (implementation of cognitive control) processing in ADHD. Methods: ERPs were obtained for 46 ADHD and 51 typically developing (TD) children using the stop-signal task. Response-locked error (Ne and Pe) and stimulus-locked post-error (N2) components were compared between groups. Ne/Pe were corrected for preceding stimulus overlap and group differences were localized. Results: Ne was intact, while Pe amplitude was markedly reduced in children with ADHD (ηp2 = 0.14). Pe differences were localized in the dorsal posterior/midcingulate (BA31/24) cortex. While the TD group showed increased N2 amplitude in post-error trials (ηp2 = 0.24), localized in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and angular gyrus, the ADHD group did not. Conclusions: Self-regulation deficits in ADHD are associated with later stages of error processing and subsequent implementation of cognitive control. Significance: We contribute to the literature by further specifying error processing deficits in ADHD

Physical fitness, cognitive functioning and academic achievement in healthy adolescents

Purpose: Examine the association between health-related physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness) and skill-related physical fitness (speed-agility) and both cognitive functions and academic achievement in adolescents (12–15 years). Methods: Data of 423 Dutch adolescents were analyzed (46.8% boys, age = 13.45 ± 0.43 years). Physical fitness was assessed using five subtests of the Eurofit test battery measuring cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m Shuttle Run Test), muscular fitness (Broad Jump and Sit-Ups) and speed-agility (10 × 5 m Shuttle Run Test and Plate Tapping Test). Cognitive functions were assessed by the Digit Span Task, the Grid Task and an adapted version of the Attention Network Test. Finally, academic achievement was assessed by two standardized tests assessing mathematic skills and language skills. Multilevel regression analyses were performed in MlWin to examine the relations of interest adjusting for sex and age. Results: Multilevel regression analysis showed that speed-agility was significantly related to visuospatial working memory (β = 0.159; p = 0.014), information processing and control (β = 0.238; p < 0.001) and interference control (β = 0.156; p = 0.039), but not to the other cognitive or academic achievement outcomes. Cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular fitness were not related to any of the cognitive or academic achievement outcomes. Conclusion: The results suggest that skill-related physical fitness is related to cognitive functions and health-related physical fitness is not. Therefore it can be argued that improved levels of skill-related physical fitness may lead to improved cognitive functioning