Evaluating the consequences of impaired monitoring of learned behavior in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using a Bayesian hierarchical model of choice response time.

Abstract

Objective Performance monitoring deficits have been proposed as a cognitive marker involved in the development of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it is unclear whether these deficits cause impairment when established action sequences conflict with environmental demands. The current study applies a novel data-analytic technique to a well-established sequence learning paradigm to investigate reactions to disruption of learned behavior in ADHD. Method Children (ages 8–12) with and without ADHD completed a serial reaction time task in which they implicitly learned an 8-item sequence of keypresses over the course of 5 training blocks. The training sequence was replaced with a novel sequence in a transfer block, and returned in two subsequent recovery blocks. Response time data were fit by a Bayesian hierarchical version of the linear ballistic accumulator model which permitted the dissociation of learning processes from performance monitoring effects on RT. Results Sequence-specific learning on the task was reflected in the systematic reduction of the amount of evidence required to initiate a response, and was unimpaired in ADHD. When the novel sequence onset, typically-developing children displayed a shift in their attentional state while children with ADHD did not, leading to worse subsequent performance compared to controls. Conclusions Children with ADHD are not impaired in learning novel action sequences, but display difficulty monitoring their implementation and engaging top-down control when they become inadequate. These results support theories of ADHD that highlight the interactions between monitoring processes and changing cognitive demands as the cause of self-regulation and information-processing problems in the disorder.

Is Poor Working Memory a Transdiagnostic Risk Factor for Psychopathology?

“…Arguably one of the best ways to incorporate accuracy and speed of performance into a single set of indices is through a computational approach known as diffusion modelling (Ratcliff & McKoon, 2008). This approach, which has long been used in the cognitive sciences and cognitive neurosciences, has recently begun to be adopted in the developmental (Cohen-Gilbert et al, 2014; Ratcliff, Love, Thompson, & Opfer, 2012), aging (Ratcliff, Thapar, & McKoon, 2004, 2011; Starns & Ratcliff, 2010), and clinical (Huang-Pollock et al, 2016; Huang-Pollock, Karalunas, Tam, & Moore, 2012; Karalunas, Huang-Pollock, & Nigg, 2012; Moustafa et al, 2015; Weigard, Huang-Pollock, & Brown, 2016; Weigard & Huang-Pollock, 2014; Wiecki, Poland, & Frank, 2015) literatures.…”

Procedural Sequence Learning in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Analysis

“…Prehn-Kristensen et al (2011) concluded that the processes underlying procedural sequence learning may differ between ADHD and TD. Despite these findings, other studies have suggested that procedural sequence learning is unaffected in ADHD (Vloet et al, 2010;Laasonen et al, 2014;Weigard et al, 2016;Pedersen and Ohrmann, 2018). Specifically, these studies have reported comparable reductions in response times across sequences blocks on variations of the SRT task in children and adults with ADHD and TD.…”

“…To date, only a handful of studies have explored procedural sequence learning in ADHD. Most of these studies have used the serial reaction time (SRT) task (e.g., Karatekin et al, 2009;Vloet et al, 2010;Prehn-Kristensen et al, 2011;Laasonen et al, 2014;Weigard et al, 2016;Pedersen and Ohrmann, 2018), which is a button-press task commonly used to measure implicit visualmotor sequence learning (Nissen and Bullemer, 1987;Howard and Howard, 1997). For this task, a visual stimulus appears in one of four horizontally-arranged squares on a screen.…”

“…The literature search identified 325 records after removing duplicates, and 25 articles remained after an initial title and abstract search for relevancy. Of these 25 articles assessed in full, 18 studies did not meet our predetermined inclusion criteria leaving seven studies that were included in our quantitative synthesis of the literature (Karatekin et al, 2009;Schnoll, 2009;Vloet et al, 2010;Prehn-Kristensen et al, 2011;Laasonen et al, 2014;Weigard et al, 2016;Pedersen and Ohrmann, 2018). No further articles were found through forward and backward reference searches of the included studies.…”

Impaired Evidence Accumulation as a Transdiagnostic Vulnerability Factor in Psychopathology

“…This suggests EEA has some generality in influencing performance across multiple psychological domains. Third, EEA has been observed to be diminished in several psychiatric disorders 16,24,25 , though most studies thus far have examined attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [26][27][28][29] , and different tasks were used across these studies, making comparisons across disorders difficult.…”