TY - JOUR
T1 - Stimulant treatment reduces lapses in attention among children with ADHD
T2 - The effects of methylphenidate on intra-individual response time distributions
AU - Spencer, Sarah V.
AU - Hawk, Larry W.
AU - Richards, Jerry B.
AU - Shiels, Keri
AU - Pelham, William E.
AU - Waxmonsky, James G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank Mark Kutgowski for programming assistance, Rosemary Tannock for comments on the design of the study, and all of the families that participated in the Summer Research Camp. This research was supported by grant MH069434 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
PY - 2009/8
Y1 - 2009/8
N2 - Recent research has suggested that intra-individual variability in reaction time (RT) distributions of children with ADHD is characterized by a particularly large rightward skew that may reflect lapses in attention. The purpose of the study was to provide the first randomized, placebo-controlled test of the effects of the stimulant methylphenidate (MPH) on this tail and other RT distribution characteristics. Participants were 49 9- to 12-year-old children with ADHD. Children participated in a 3-day double-blind, placebo-controlled medication assessment during which they received long-acting MPH (Concerta®), with the nearest equivalents of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg t.i.d. immediate-release MPH. Children completed a simple two-choice speeded discrimination task on and off of medication. Mode RT and deviation from the mode were used to examine the peak and skew, respectively, of RT distributions. MPH significantly reduced the peak and skew of RT distributions. Importantly, the two medication effects were uncorrelated suggesting that MPH works to improve both the speed and variability in responding. The improvement in variability with stimulant treatment is interpreted as a reduction in lapses in attention. This, in turn, may reflect stimulant enhancement of self-regulatory processes theorized to be at the core of ADHD.
AB - Recent research has suggested that intra-individual variability in reaction time (RT) distributions of children with ADHD is characterized by a particularly large rightward skew that may reflect lapses in attention. The purpose of the study was to provide the first randomized, placebo-controlled test of the effects of the stimulant methylphenidate (MPH) on this tail and other RT distribution characteristics. Participants were 49 9- to 12-year-old children with ADHD. Children participated in a 3-day double-blind, placebo-controlled medication assessment during which they received long-acting MPH (Concerta®), with the nearest equivalents of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg t.i.d. immediate-release MPH. Children completed a simple two-choice speeded discrimination task on and off of medication. Mode RT and deviation from the mode were used to examine the peak and skew, respectively, of RT distributions. MPH significantly reduced the peak and skew of RT distributions. Importantly, the two medication effects were uncorrelated suggesting that MPH works to improve both the speed and variability in responding. The improvement in variability with stimulant treatment is interpreted as a reduction in lapses in attention. This, in turn, may reflect stimulant enhancement of self-regulatory processes theorized to be at the core of ADHD.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10802-009-9316-2
DO - 10.1007/s10802-009-9316-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 19291387
AN - SCOPUS:68249156693
SN - 0091-0627
VL - 37
SP - 805
EP - 816
JO - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
IS - 6
ER -