Sustained Attention and Executive Functioning Performance in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
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| Authors: | John F Stins PhD Marieke S Tollenaar MSc Dorine IE Slaats-Willemse MSc Jan K Buitelaar MD PhD Hanna Swaab-Barneveld PhD Frank C Verhulst MD |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biological Psychology , Free university of Amsterdam;2. University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychology , Utrecht, The Netherlands;3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , Erasmus Medical Center–Sophia Children's Hospital , Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to further refine the cognitive phenotype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with respect to the ability to sustain attention and executive functioning. Participants were 34 boys with ADHD (combined type) and 28 normal controls. The groups were closely matched for age and IQ. All participants were 12 years of age. Both groups performed a computerized sustained attention task and a response interference task. Measures related to speed, accuracy, and time on task were collected. We found that children with ADHD performed slower, less accurately, more impulsively, and with less stability than controls. Both groups produced more errors with increasing time on task, reflecting reduced vigilance. Importantly, no interaction with time on task was found. The overall pattern of results suggests that measures related to accuracy are more informative than measures related to speed of responding in refining the cognitive phenotype of ADHD. |
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| Keywords: | Keywords attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder response inhibition sustained attention executive functioning |
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