BackgroundOptimal stimulation theory and moderate brain arousal (MBA) model hypothesize that extra-task stimulation (e.g. white noise) could improve cognitive functions of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigate benefits of white noise on attention and inhibition in children with and without ADHD (7–12 years old), both at behavioral and at neurophysiological levels.MethodsThirty children with and without ADHD performed a visual cued Go/Nogo task in two conditions (white noise or no-noise exposure), in which behavioral and P300 (mean amplitudes) data were analyzed. Spontaneous eye-blink rates were also recorded and participants went through neuropsychological assessment. Two separate analyses were conducted with each child separately assigned into two groups (1) ADHD or typically developing children (TDC), and (2) noise beneficiaries or non-beneficiaries according to the observed performance during the experiment. This latest categorization, based on a new index we called “Noise Benefits Index” (NBI), was proposed to determine a neuropsychological profile positively sensitive to noise.ResultsNoise exposure reduced omission rate in children with ADHD, who were no longer different from TDC. Eye-blink rate was higher in children with ADHD but was not modulated by white noise. NBI indicated a significant relationship between ADHD and noise benefit. Strong correlations were observed between noise benefit and neuropsychological weaknesses in vigilance and inhibition. Participants who benefited from noise had an increased Go P300 in the noise condition.ConclusionThe improvement of children with ADHD with white noise supports both optimal stimulation theory and MBA model. However, eye-blink rate results question the dopaminergic hypothesis in the latter. The NBI evidenced a profile positively sensitive to noise, related with ADHD, and associated with weaker cognitive control.
Background: Studies investigating event-related potential (ERP) evoked in a Cue-Go/NoGo paradigm have shown lower frontal N1, N2 and central P3 in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to typically developing children (TDC). However, the electroencephalographic (EEG) dynamics underlying these ERPs remain largely unexplored in ADHD. Methods: We investigate the event-related spectral perturbation and inter-trial coherence linked to the ERP triggered by visual Cue-Go/NoGo stimuli, in 14 children (7 ADHD and 7 TDC) aged 8 to 12 years. Results: Compared to TDC, the EEG dynamics of children with ADHD showed a lower theta-alpha ITC concomitant to lower occipito-parietal P1-N2 and frontal N1-P2 potentials in response to Cue, Go and Nogo stimuli; an upper alpha power preceding lower central Go-P3; a lower theta-alpha power and ITC were coupled to a lower frontal Nogo-N3; a lower low-gamma power overall scalp at 300 ms after Go and Nogo stimuli. Conclusion: These findings suggest impaired ability in children with ADHD to conserve the brain oscillations phase associated with stimulus processing. This physiological trait might serve as a target for therapeutic intervention or be used as monitoring of their effects.
Female participants have been underrepresented in previous structural magnetic resonance imaging reports on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we used optimized voxel-based morphometry to examine grey matter volumes in a sample of 33 never-medicated children with combined-type ADHD and 27 typically developing (TD) children. We found a gender-by-diagnosis interaction effect in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), whereby boys with ADHD exhibited reduced volumes compared with TD boys, while girls with ADHD showed increased volumes when compared with TD girls. Considering the key role played by the ventral ACC in emotional regulation, we discuss the potential contribution of these alterations to gender-specific symptoms' profiles in ADHD.
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