ADHD Group (adhd + group)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Institutionalized Intolerance of ADHD: Sources and Consequences

HYPATIA, Issue 3 2010
SUSAN C. C. HAWTHORNE
Diagnosable individuals, caregivers, and clinicians typically embrace a biological conception of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), finding that medical treatment is beneficial. Scientists study ADHD phenomenology, interventions to ease symptoms, and underlying mechanisms, often with an aim of helping diagnosed people. Yet current understanding of ADHD, jointly influenced by science and society, has an unintended downside. Scientific and social influences have embedded negative values in the ADHD concept, and have simultaneously dichotomized ADHD-diagnosable from non-diagnosable individuals. In social settings insistent on certain types of success, the negative values associated with the diagnostic category are attributed to people in the dichotomized "ADHD" group. Devaluation, institutional restrictions on "success" definitions and endpoints, and limited options for achieving success jointly constitute institutionalized intolerance of ADHD. [source]


Differentiating Type A behaviour and hyperactivity using observed motivation during a reaction time task

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2003
Lilianne Nyberg
Abstract In light of the previously found overlap between Type A behaviour as measured by the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) and hyperactivity scales, the overall aim of this study was to clarify the standing of MYTH-defined Type A behaviour relative to hyperactivity and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), using observed task motivation and performance on a choice reaction-time task, the Complex Reaction Time (CRT) measure. This study included 21 boys exhibiting Type A behaviour, 22 ADHD boys, 20 non-clinically hyperactive boys, and 20 non-hyperactive boys, between the ages of 6 and 13 years. It was proposed that a differentiation of constructs would be possible using observed task motivation if the MYTH were a discriminantly valid measure of Type A behaviour. Results showed that the MYTH-defined Type A group differed from the clinically diagnosed ADHD group, although it was markedly similar to the non-clinical hyperactive group, displaying comparable CRT performance and low level of task motivation. Type A behaviour correlated to CRT performance and task motivation in a way which was conceptually more indicative of hyperactivity than of Type A behaviour, which questions the validity of the MYTH as a measure of the Type A construct. The MYTH Impatience subscale was found to be particularly impure with regard to hyperactivity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


An Event-Related Potential Study of Response Inhibition in ADHD With and Without Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2010
Matthew J. Burden
Background:, The attention and cognitive problems seen in individuals with a history of prenatal alcohol exposure often resemble those associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but few studies have directly assessed the unique influence of each on neurobehavioral outcomes. Methods:, We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a Go/No-go response inhibition task in young adults with prospectively obtained histories of prenatal alcohol exposure and childhood ADHD. Results:, Regardless of prenatal alcohol exposure, participants with childhood ADHD were less accurate at inhibiting responses. However, only the ADHD group without prenatal alcohol exposure showed a markedly diminished P3 difference between No-go and Go, which may reflect a more effortful strategy related to inhibitory control at the neural processing level. Conclusion:, This finding supports a growing body of evidence suggesting that the manifestation of idiopathic ADHD symptoms may stem from a neurophysiologic process that is different from the ADHD symptomatology associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Individuals who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol and present with ADHD symptomatology may represent a unique endophenotype of the disorder, which may require different treatment approaches from those found to be effective with idiopathic ADHD. [source]


Comparison of Adaptive Behavior in Children With Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2009
Nicole Crocker
Background:, Adaptive behavior, the ability to respond successfully to everyday demands, may be especially sensitive to the effects of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. Similar adaptive dysfunction is common in other developmental disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is frequently present in alcohol-exposed children and this overlap in clinical presentation makes identification of alcohol-exposed children difficult. Direct comparison of children with prenatal alcohol exposure and ADHD may yield distinct patterns of cognitive and behavioral performance and add to growing knowledge of the neuropsychological and behavioral profile of prenatal alcohol exposure. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to compare adaptive behavior in children with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (ALC), nonexposed children with ADHD (ADHD), and typically developing controls (CON). Methods:, Sixty-five children (ALC = 22, ADHD = 23, CON = 20) were selected from a larger ongoing study of the behavioral teratogenicity of alcohol. Alcohol-exposed and control participants were selected to match the ADHD subjects on age, sex, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Caregivers were administered the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, a semi-structured interview, and were asked to rate their child's behavior on 3 domains of adaptive function. Data were analyzed using regression techniques. Results:, Relative to controls, children in both the ALC and ADHD groups showed adaptive behavior deficits on all 3 domains and children in the ALC group were significantly more impaired than the ADHD group on the daily living skills domain. Within the ALC group, socialization standard scores were lower at older ages. This negative relationship between age and standard scores in the ALC group was also observed on the communication domain, a finding not previously reported. Conclusions:, This study suggests that both children with prenatal alcohol exposure and children with ADHD show impairments in adaptive function relative to controls, but that the pattern of impairment differs between these clinical groups. Adaptive ability in children with prenatal alcohol exposure is characterized by an arrest in development, as evidenced by a lack of improvement with age in socialization and communication scores. In contrast, children with ADHD exhibit a developmental delay in adaptive ability as their scores continued to improve with age, albeit not to the level of control children. Continued research focused on elucidating the patterns of deficits that exist in alcohol-exposed children ultimately will lead to improved differential diagnosis and effective interventions. [source]


Listen to the noise: noise is beneficial for cognitive performance in ADHD

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 8 2007
Göran Söderlund
Background:, Noise is typically conceived of as being detrimental to cognitive performance. However, given the mechanism of stochastic resonance, a certain amount of noise can benefit performance. We investigate cognitive performance in noisy environments in relation to a neurocomputational model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dopamine. The Moderate Brain Arousal model (MBA; Sikström & Söderlund, 2007) suggests that dopamine levels modulate how much noise is required for optimal cognitive performance. We experimentally examine how ADHD and control children respond to different encoding conditions, providing different levels of environmental stimulation. Methods:, Participants carried out self-performed mini tasks (SPT), as a high memory performance task, and a verbal task (VT), as a low memory task. These tasks were performed in the presence, or absence, of auditory white noise. Results:, Noise exerted a positive effect on cognitive performance for the ADHD group and deteriorated performance for the control group, indicating that ADHD subjects need more noise than controls for optimal cognitive performance. Conclusions:, The positive effect of white noise is explained by the phenomenon of stochastic resonance (SR), i.e., the phenomenon that moderate noise facilitates cognitive performance. The MBA model suggests that noise in the environment, introduces internal noise into the neural system through the perceptual system. This noise induces SR in the neurotransmitter systems and makes this noise beneficial for cognitive performance. In particular, the peak of the SR curve depends on the dopamine level, so that participants with low dopamine levels (ADHD) require more noise for optimal cognitive performance compared to controls. [source]


Impaired working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their siblings

ASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Kok Wei Wee MD (USM) MMED (PSY) (USM)
Abstract Introduction: Impairment of working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been well described. If similar impairment in working memory can be demonstrated among their siblings, this could suggest impaired working memory is a genetic component of ADHD. Methods: Fifty-seven subjects were recruited: (1) ADHD group (n=21); (2) siblings of ADHD children group (n=15); and (3) non-ADHD children with chronic medical condition as the control group (n=21). All subjects were aged between 6 and 15 years, and ADHD was diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR. Those with other comorbidity or IQ<70 were excluded. Digit Recall was used for assessment of the phonological loop component, Maze Memory test for the visuospatial sketch pad component and Backward Digit Recall for the central executive component of working memory. Results: ADHD children and their siblings showed similar impairment and both differed from the control group on the Maze Memory test. ADHD children also showed impairment in the Digit Recall test; however, the sibling group did not differ from the control group on this test. The Backward Digit Recall score did not show any significant difference between the three groups. Discussion: Impairment of the visuospatial sketch pad component of working memory seems to cluster in ADHD children and their siblings. Thus, impairment of the visuospatial sketch pad component of working memory may point towards a genetic predisposition of ADHD. [source]