A meta-analysis on verbal working memory in children and adolescents with ADHD

Ramos, Ari Alex; Hamdan, Amer Cavalheiro; Machado, Liana

doi:10.1080/13854046.2019.1604998

Cited by 76 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 135 publications

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“…In our sample, the severity of attention deficits was not associated with verbal working memory (the phonological loop), as measured by the WMI, after adjusting for other covariates (Table 2). This is in line with previous studies that found that measures of attention deficits in ADHD are unrelated to verbal working memory (Martinussen et al, 2005); however, other studies found that verbal working memory is an important domain of cognitive dysfunction in ADHD (Ramos, Hamdan, & Machado, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Verbal working memory and processing speed: Correlations with the severity of attention deficit and emotional dysregulation in adult ADHD

Anker¹,

Øgrim

Heir

2021

Journal of Neuropsychology

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Objectives. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), emphasizes symptoms severity with regard to the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many clinicians use neuropsychological test results as objective measures of cognitive functions as part of the diagnostic work-up. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the psychometric test results regarding verbal working memory and processing speed are useful as indicators of the severity of attention deficits and emotional dysregulation in adults with ADHD.Methods. This observational cross-sectional clinical study included 418 adults diagnosed with ADHD according to the DSM-5. Attention deficit severity was defined based on the inattentive subscale of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. Emotional dysregulation was assessed with the Deficient Emotional Self-Regulation scale. Verbal working memory was measured with the Working Memory Index (WMI), and processing speed was measured with the Processing Speed Index (PSI) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, third edition.Results. The full-scale intelligence quotients of the participants were in the normal range, with expected reductions in verbal working memory and processing speed. Only processing speed was associated with attention deficits (b = À.056, p = .003). The association between the psychometric test result for verbal working memory and processing speed and that between the severity of attention deficits and emotional dysregulation were weak (R 2 < .1) and mostly non-significant. Conclusion.The psychometric index scores for verbal working memory (WMI) and processing speed (PSI) seem to have limited utility as indicators of the severity of attention deficits and emotional dysregulation in adult ADHD patients.When assessing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), clinicians often use results from neuropsychological tests to obtain objective measures of the patient's cognitive function to supplement clinical assessments that are based on subjective self-This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Verbal working memory and processing speed: Correlations with the severity of attention deficit and emotional dysregulation in adult ADHD

Anker¹,

Øgrim

Heir

2021

Journal of Neuropsychology

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“…Previous studies showed that the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) provides a relatively comprehensive profile of cognitive strengths and weaknesses and is commonly used for cognitive evaluation in the clinical pediatric population. Application of WISC in ADHD also confirms that it reliably differentiates between ADHD patients and healthy controls [ 15 , 16 ]. Moreover, it can provide knowledge about specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses in ADHD [ 17 – 21 ], used in designing therapeutic and educational interventions, and employed as a diagnostic marker in children with ADHD [ 17 , 22 – 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

ADHD subtype-specific cognitive correlates and association with self-esteem: a quantitative difference

Molavi¹,

Nadermohammadi²,

Ghojehbeiglou³

et al. 2020

BMC Psychiatry

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Background Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a major neurodevelopmental disorder with heterogeneous symptoms, subtypes, and cognitive deficits. Cognitive deficits are central to ADHD pathophysiology and one potential source of heterogeneity in ADHD. Subtype-specific cognitive correlates are not, however, well-studied. We explored cognitive correlates of ADHD subtypes based on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) scores. We also assessed subtype-specific self-esteem rating in ADHD subtypes and explored its association with cognitive correlates. Methods One hundred thirty-nine children with ADHD (80.6% boy, 19.4% girl) were categorized into the predominantly “hyperactive (ADHD-H)”, “inattentive (ADHD-I)” and “combined (ADHD-C)” subtype based on their symptoms and scores on the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-PL) and Conners Parent-Rating Scale (CPRS-RS). They were then individually administrated the WISC-IV and completed a self-esteem inventory. Group differences in the WISC-IV indices and their predictability in discriminating ADHD subtypes were analyzed. Results We found a quantitative differentiation of cognitive abilities among ADHD subtypes with “working memory” as the most compromised cognitive domain. ADHD-I had the poorest cognitive profile while ADHD-H scored highest in all cognitive domains. Importantly, cognitive abilities were negatively correlated with inattention and positively correlated with hyperactive symptoms. Moreover, self-esteem ratings were positively correlated with the cognitive domains and were rated differently based on the subtypes. ADHD-H, with the highest cognitive strength, reported the highest level of self-esteem among all subtypes. Conclusions ADHD subtype-specific symptoms, cognitive deficits, and self-esteem problems should be considered for precise diagnosis and effective and personalized treatment in ADHD in light of further supporting evidence and assessments. Cognitive interventions might be more compatible with and effective in inattentive and combined subtypes of ADHD. Working memory improving-based interventions can benefit all ADHD subtypes. A supportive educational system in school and providing adjunct supportive interventions should be considered for children with ADHD as well.

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“…For instance, Kane et al (2007) found that individuals with lower working memory capacity endorsed significantly more mind wandering and off-task thoughts during cognitively demanding activities in everyday life than peers with stronger working memory capacity. Ramos et al (2019) used performance on the digit span backward subtest to highlight verbal working memory as a key cognitive impairment in children with ADHD and revealed that deficits are more pronounced in younger children. Though children may be more functionally affected by working memory dysfunction, these deficits persist into adulthood (Alderson et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Reality Assessment of Classroom – Related Attention: An Ecologically Relevant Approach to Evaluating the Effectiveness of Working Memory Training

et al. 2019

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Computerized cognitive interventions to improve working memory also purport to improve ADHD-related inattention and off task behavior. Such interventions have been shown to improve working memory, executive functioning, and fluid reasoning on standardized neuropsychological measures. However, debate continues as to whether such programs lead to improvement on ecologically relevant outcomes, such as classroom behavior. This study sought to propose a novel, ecologically relevant approach to evaluate the effectiveness of working memory training on real-world attention performance. Participants included 15 children, aged 6–15, identified as having attention problems were assessed via the virtual classroom continuous performance task (VCCPT) before and after completing 5 weeks of Cogmed working memory training. The VCCPT is a validated measure of sustained and selective attention set within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Several key areas of attention performance were observed to improve, including omission errors, reaction time, reaction time variability, and hit variability. Results suggest that working memory training led to substantial improvements in sustained attention in a real-life scenario of classroom learning. Moreover, the use of psychometrically validated VR measurement provides incremental validity beyond that of teacher or parent report of behavior. Observing such improvements on ecologically relevant measures of attention adds to the discussion around how to evaluate the effectiveness of working memory training as it pertains to real-life improvements and serves to inform consumer awareness of such products and their claims.

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A meta-analysis on verbal working memory in children and adolescents with ADHD

Cited by 76 publications

References 135 publications

Verbal working memory and processing speed: Correlations with the severity of attention deficit and emotional dysregulation in adult ADHD

Verbal working memory and processing speed: Correlations with the severity of attention deficit and emotional dysregulation in adult ADHD

ADHD subtype-specific cognitive correlates and association with self-esteem: a quantitative difference

Virtual Reality Assessment of Classroom – Related Attention: An Ecologically Relevant Approach to Evaluating the Effectiveness of Working Memory Training

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