No abstract

Subjective and objective assessment tools were found to be sensitive in revealing cognitive dysfunctions of adults with ADHD. Because of the weak association between subjective and objective measurements, it was concluded that subjective and objective measurements are both important for clinical practice but may provide distinct types of information and capture different aspects of functioning.

Neuropsychological research on adults with ADHD showed deficits in various aspects of attention. However, the majority of studies failed to explore the change of performance over time, so-called time-on-task effects. As a consequence, little is known about sustained attention performance of adults with ADHD. The aim of the present study was therefore to test the hypothesis of sustained attention deficits of adults with ADHD. Twenty-nine adults with ADHD and 30 healthy individuals were assessed on four 20-min tests of sustained attention, measuring alertness, selective attention, divided attention and flexibility. The deterioration of performance over time (time-on-task effects) was compared between patients with ADHD and healthy individuals to conclude on sustained attention performance. Compared to healthy individuals, patients with ADHD showed significant deficits of medium size in selective attention and divided attention. Furthermore, medium sustained attention deficits was observed in measures of alertness, selective attention and divided attention. This study supports the notion of sustained attention deficits of adults with ADHD.

The findings suggest that impaired memory performance is either a stable trait characteristic or a scar effect of chronic starvation that may play a role in the development and/or persistence of the disorder.

The present study provides normative data from a sample of 257 healthy children and 608 adults on a modified version of the Five-Point Test (5PT). The 5PT is a structured and standardized test measuring figural fluency functions. Interrater reliability, test-retest-reliability and construct validity of this measure were analyzed. The sensitivity of the task for cognitive disturbances of patients with neurological diseases was proven by analyzing the test performance in the 5PT of patients with Parkinson's disease. Finally, normative data stratified by age and corrected for education level is provided. The results of the present study confirm the value of the 5PT in the measurement of figural fluency functions in clinical examination and neuropsychological research.