Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Advances in Cognitive, Neurobiological, and Genetic Research

Abstract

Conceptual and technological advances in cognitive neuroscience and molecular genetics have the potential to identify the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. This article reviews the application of these technologies to the scientific study of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It begins with a summary of shifts in conceptualization and scientific study of this common condition. This is followed by a critical review of findings from recent cognitive, neuroimaging, and genetic studies. The available data do not yet permit an integration across these different levels of enquiry, but implicate problems in response inhibition, dysfunction of frontostriatal networks, and genetic factors in the pathogenesis of this complex behavioral phenotype. The review closes with suggestions for future interdisciplinary research.

Neurocognitive effects of methylphenidate in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

“…D−P refers to the drug minus placebo change score. SEM standard error of the mean related to abnormalities in specific underlying neural processes (Tannock 1998).…”

Behavioral Inhibition and Addiction

“…Such groups should demonstrate poorer inhibitory control on these tasks compared with healthy "control" samples. The manual and attentional inhibition tasks described above have been shown effective in detecting deficits of inhibitory control in clinical populations, including schizophrenic patients, brain-injury patients, and those with ADHD (CremonaMeteyard and Geffen, 1994;Malloy, Bihrle, Duffy, and Cimino, 1993;Oosterlaan and Sergeant, 1996;Schachar, Tannock, Marriott, and Logan, 1995;Tannock, 1998;Thakkar et al, 2011;Turetsky et al, 2007).…”

Continuity and Change in Preschool ADHD Symptoms: Longitudinal Genetic Analysis with Contrast Effects

“…ADHD occurs in approximately 3-6% of school-age children, affecting about three times as many males as females (Tannock, 1998). It is a major cause of childhood behavioral problems, including impaired family and social relationships and failure at school.…”