Nineteen boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and thirteen normal control boys (ages 8-10) were compared to evaluate the effects of psychostimulant (methylphenidate, MPH) treatment on behavioral performance data and ERPs. The ERPs were recorded from 19 active electrode sites during a selective attention Stroop Test. The Stroop test did not discriminate baseline performance differences between ADHD boys and Controls; however, the performance measures were sensitive to MPH treatment effects. Several baseline ERP differences between the ADHD boys and Controls were identified for nontargets (P3a latencies) and targets (N1 latencies, P3b amplitudes and latencies). MPH affected both early and late nontarget and target ERP components evoked during the performance of the Stroop test which suggested that both early sensory mechanisms and later cognitive processes were affected by the psychostimulant. It is suggested that the results support attentional deficits in both anterior and posterior regions of the brain.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association, Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics. (1987) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed ) Washington, DCAmerican Psychiatric Association.
Barkley, R.A, Grodzinsky, G., & DuPaul, G.J. ( 1992). Frontal lobe functions in attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity A review and research report. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20, 163-188.
6.
Bench, C.J., Fnth, C.D., Grasby, PM., Friston, K.J. , Paulesu, E., Frackowiak, R.S. J., & Dolan, R.J. (1993) Investigations of the functional anatomy of attention using the Stroop TestNeuropsychologia , 31, 907-922
7.
Bradley, C. (1937) The behavior of children receiving BenzedrineAmerican Journal of Psychiatry , 94, 577-585.
8.
Brumaghim, J.T , Klorman, R., Strauss, J., Lewine, J.D., & Goldstem, M.G. (1987) Does methylphenidate affect information processing? Findings from two studies on performance and P3b latencyPsychophysiology, 24, 361-373.
9.
Carlson, C.L. (1986) Attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity: A review of preliminary experimental evidence. In B.B. Lahey & A.E Kazdin (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology. New York: Plenum Press
10.
Clark, E., Baker, B.K, Gardner, M.K., Pompa, J.L. , & Tait, F V. ( 1990). Effectiveness of stimulant drug treatment for attention problems: A look at head injured children SchoolPsychology International, 11, 227-234.
11.
Coons, H.W., Klorman, R. , & Borgstedt, A.D. ( 1987). Effects of methylphenidate on adolescents with a childhood history of attention deficit disorder: II. Information processingJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 26, 368-374.
12.
Cowart, V.S. (1988). The Ritalin controversy: What's made this drug's opponents hyperactive?Journal of the American Medical Association, 259, 2521-2523.
13.
Donchin, E. (1981). Surprise!.. Surprise?Psychophysiology, 18, 493-513.
14.
Everett, J., Thomas, J., Cote, F., Levesque, J., & Michaud, D. (1991). Cognitive effects of psychostimulant medication in hyperactive children . Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 22, 79-87.
Quantitative morphology of the corpus callosum in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 665-669.
17.
Golden, C.J. (1978). The Stroop Color and Word Test A manual for clinical and experimental uses. Chicago: Stoelting.
18.
Gorenstein, E.E., Mammato, C.A., & Sandy, J.M. ( 1989). Performance of inattentive-over-active children on selected measures of prefrontal-type function. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45, 619-632.
Gualtieri, C.T. (1991). The functional neuroanatomy of psychiatric treatments. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14, 113-124
21.
Gualtieri, C.T., Wargin, W., Kanoy, R., Patrick, K., Shen, C.D., Youngblood, W., Mueller, R.A., & Breese, G R ( 1982) Clinical studies of methylphenidate serum levels in children and adults. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry , 21, 19-26.
22.
Halliday, R., Callaway, E. , & Naylor, H. ( 1983 ). Visual evoked potential changes induced by methylphenidate in hyperactive children. Dose/response effects. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 55, 258-267.
23.
Halliday, R., Callaway, E. , & Rosenthal, J.H ( 1984). The visual ERP predicts clinical response to methylphenidate in hyperactive children. Psychophysiology, 21, 114-121.
Klorman, R. (1987). Commentary: Comments on studies of event-related potentials in neuropsychiatric disorders of development. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology Supplement, 40, 573-576.
31.
Klorman, R. (1991). Cognitive event-related potentials in Attention Deficit Disorder. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 24, 130-140.
32.
Klorman, R., Salzman, L.F. , Bauer, L.O., Coons, H W., Borgstedt, A.D., & Halpern, W.I. (1983). Effects of two doses of methylphenidate on cross-situational and borderline hyperactive children's evoked potentials. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 56, 169-185.
33.
Laplante, L (1988). Software survey section: Stroop Colored word interference test. Journal of Psychological Research, 2, 1-111.
34.
Loiselle, D., Stamm, J.S. , Maitinsky, S., & Whipple, S.C. (1980). Evoked potential and behavioral signs of attention dysfunctions in hyperactive boys . Psychophysiology, 17, 193-201
35.
Lou, H.C., Henriksen, L., & Bruhn, P (1984 ). Focal cerebral hypofusion in children with dysphasia and/or attention deficit disorder. Archives of Neurology, 41, 825-829.
Mefford, I.N., & Potter, W.Z. (1989). A neuroanatomical and biochemical basis for Attention Deficit Disorder with hyperactivity in children: A defect in tonic adrenaline mediated inhibition of locus coeruleus stimulation. Medical Hypotheses, 29, 33-42.
38.
Mesulam, M.M. (1981). A cortical network for directed attention and unilateral neglect. Annual Review of Neurology, 10, 309-327.
39.
Mirsky, A.F. (1987). Behavioral and psychophysiological markers of disordered attention. Environmental Health Perspectives, 74, 191-199.
40.
Naatanen, R. (1992). Attention and brain functionHillsdale, NJLawrence Erlbaum, Associates.
41.
Naylor H., Halliday, R., & Calloway, E. (1985). The effects of methylphenidate on information processing. Psychopharmacology, 86, 90-95.
42.
Pelham, W.E., McBurnett, K., Harper, G.W., Milich, R., Murphy, D.A. , Clinton, J., & Thiele, C. (1990).
43.
Methylphenidate and baseball playing in ADHD children: Who's on first?Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 130-133
44.
Peloquin, L, & Klorman, R. (1986). Effects of methylphenidate on normal children's mood, event-related potentials, and performance in memory scanning and vigilance. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 88-98.
45.
Polich, J. (1993) P300 in clinical applications: meaning, method, and measurement. In E. Niedermeyer and F. Lopes Da Silva, Electroencephalography: Basic principles, clinical applications, and related fields. (3rd ed.) Philadelphia : Williams & Wilkins.
46.
Posner, M.I., & Peterson, S.E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 25-42.
47.
Rapport, M.D., Stoner, G. , DuPaul, G.J., Kelly, K.L., Tucker, S.B. , & Schoeler, T. ( 1988). Attention Deficit Disorder and methylphenidate: A multilevel analysis of dose-response effects on children's impulsivity across settings . Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 60-69.
48.
Richardson, E., Kupietz, S., Winsberg, B. G., Maitinsky, S., & Mendell, N. (1988). Effects of methylphenidate dosage in hyperactive reading-disabled children: II. Reading achievement. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 27, 78-87.
49.
Safer, D.J., & Krager, J.M. (1988). A survey of medication treatment for hyperactive/inattentive studentsJournal of the American Medical Association, 260, 2256-2258.
50.
Satterfield, J.H., & Bradley, B.W. (1977). Evoked potentials and brain maturation in hyperactive and normal children. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 43, 43-51.
51.
Satterfield, J.H., Schell, A.M., Backs, R.W., & Hidaka, K.C. (1984). A cross-sectional and longitudinal study of age effects of electrophysiological measures in hyperactive and normal children. Biological Psychiatry, 19, 973-990.
52.
Satterfield, J.H., Schell, A.M., Nicholas, T., & Backs, R.W. (1988). Topographic study of auditory event-related potentials in normal boys and boys with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. Psychophysiology, 25, 591-606.
53.
Satterfield, J.H., Schell, A.M., Nicholas, T.W., Satterfield, B.T., & Freese, T.E. (1990). Ontogeny of selective attention on event-related potentials in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and normal boys. Biological Psychiatry, 28, 879-903.
54.
Satterfield, J.H., Schell, A.M., & Nicholas, T.W. ( 1994) Preferential neural processing of attended stimuli in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and normal boys. Psychophysiology, 31, 1-10.
55.
Strauss, J., Lewis, J.L. , Klorman, R., Peloquin, L., Perlmutter, R.A., & Salzman, L.F. (1984). Effects of methylphenidate on young adults' performance and event-related potentials in a vigilance and a paired-associates learning test. Psychophysiology, 21, 609-620.
56.
Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643-662
57.
Stroop Test (1991). Columbus, OH: Excellence in Learning, Inc.
58.
Taylor, J.F. (1990). Helping your hyperactive child Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing & Communications.
59.
Taylor, M.J., Voros, J.G. , Logan, W.J., & Malone, M.A. (1993). Changes in event-related potentials with stimulant medication in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychology, 36, 139-156.
60.
Wender, P.H. (1987). The hyperactive child, adolescent, and adultNew York: Oxford University Press.
61.
Woodcock, R., & Johnson, C. (1989). Woodcock-Johnson Revised Tests of Cognitive Ability Manual. In R. Woodcock & C. Johnson (Eds.), Woodcock-Johnson Revised Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Chicago, IL: Riverside Press
62.
Zambelli, A.J., Stamm, J.S. , Maitinsky, S., & Loiselle, D.L. (1977). Auditory evoked potentials in formerly hyperactive adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 742-747.
63.
Zametkin, A.J., Nordahl, T.E., Gross, M., King, A.C., Semple, W.E. , Rumsey, J., Hamburger, S. , & Cohen, R.M. ( 1990). Cerebral glucose metabolism in adults with hyperactivity of childhood onset. New England Journal of Medicine, 323, 1361-1366.
64.
Zametkin, A.J. & Rapoport, J.L. (1987). Neurobiology of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity: Where have we come in 50 years?Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 676-686.
