A growing translational literature suggests that adolescent exposure to
anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) leads to increased aggression and impulsivity.
However, little is known about the cognitive effects of AASs among AAS users or the
differences between adolescent and adult onset users. This study provides a test of the
effects of acute naturalistic AAS use and age of onset (adolescent vs. adult) on measures
of inhibitory control, planning and attention, and decision making. Seventy one active
adult male AAS uses completed self-report measures of impulsivity and aggress and a
subsample (11 adolescent onset vs. 11 adult onset) matched on current age were
administered four computerized test from the CANTAB battery and the Iowa Gambling Task.
Multiple regression analyses and a series of 2 (Adolescent vs. Adult) X 2 (On-cycle vs.
Off-cycle) analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to examine the differential effects of
age of onset and acute drug use on cognition and behavior. Regression analyses revealed
larger on-cycle effects for adolescent users than adult users. Subsample analyses
indicated that on-cycle users performed less well on cognitive measures of inhibitory
control and attention, but not on tests of planning or decision making. Adolescent onset
was associated with a greater impulsivity and a greater acute sensitivity to AAS effects
on attention. These preliminary findings suggest the possibility that acute AAS use is
associated with some differences in inhibitory control and impulsivity and to a lesser
degree aggression. These effects may be more potent for those initiating AAS use in
adolescence.
Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often exhibit deficits in processing information about time. Most studies, however, have required participants to perform active tasks and consequently it is unclear if performance deficits are due to impaired processing of temporal information, attentional deficits, or to impairments at a later stage of decision-making. This study used mismatch negativity (MMN) to examine automatic processing of temporal information in children with ADHD. The sample consisted of 11 children with typical development (8 boys; mean age/SD = 9.3/0.6 years) and 12 with ADHD (10 boys; mean age/SD = 8.9/0.8 years). Using the MMN paradigm, responses to standards and four deviants (hard/easy frequency, hard/easy duration) were elicited during the same sequence. The children's ability to actively discriminate each deviant was also assessed. Both groups exhibited MMNs to all deviants suggesting successful automatic discrimination. Furthermore, amplitude and latency measures were roughly comparable across groups. No group differences were seen on the active discrimination task, but performance was worse for duration than for frequency deviants. These results suggest that children with ADHD are able to automatically process temporal information, so deficits reported in active discrimination paradigms are likely due to deficits in subjective perception or usage of temporal information.
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