Working memory and information processing in ADHD: Evidence for directionality of effects.

Kofler, Michael; Soto, Elia F.; Fosco, Whitney D.; Irwin, Lauren N.; Wells, Erica L.; Sarver, Dustin E.

doi:10.1037/neu0000598

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Working memory is the ability to temporarily store, manipulate, and retrieve information while completing cognitive tasks [ 1 ]. Working memory deficits are commonly seen in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and specific learning disorders (SLD) [ 19 , 32 , 43 ]. Working memory is linked to reading and mathematics achievement, making it an essential component for the academic success of school-aged children [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While WM deficits are a matter of importance, in general, for school-aged children, concerns are noticeably greater for children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in particular. WM has been shown to be significantly correlated with inattention and disorganization in those with ADHD [ 31 , 32 ]. Attention is a crucial component of WM [ 33 , 34 ], since one must first attend to information to store, manipulate, and retrieve it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gathercole [ 13 ] argues that inattentiveness is a symptom of WM deficits experienced by these children, and that the overload of WM processes that results in the loss of information needed to complete a task shifts attention away, leading WM deficits to be misinterpreted as lack of attention. Experimental studies have suggested a potential causal relationship between WM difficulties and inattentive and hyperactive behavior brought about by ADHD [ 32 ]. Further, studies have documented a decrease in ADHD symptoms in children who demonstrated age-related improvements in WM [ 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Utilizing Cognitive Training to Improve Working Memory, Attention, and Impulsivity in School-Aged Children with ADHD and SLD

et al. 2022

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Students’ use of working memory (WM) is a key to academic success, as many subject areas and various tasks school-aged children encounter require the ability to attend to, work with, and recall information. Children with poor WM ability typically struggle with academic work compared to similar-aged peers without WM deficits. Further, WM has been shown to be significantly correlated with inattention and disorganization in those with ADHD, and WM deficits have also been identified as a potential underpinning of specific learning disorder (SLD). As an intervention technique, the use of computerized cognitive training has demonstrated improved attention and working memory skills in children with WM deficits, and children that have completed cognitive training protocols have demonstrated performance improvements in reading and math. The current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of cognitive training (conducted in a clinical setting) for students diagnosed with ADHD and SLD. Using paired-samples t-tests and a psychometric network modeling technique, results from data obtained from a sample of 43 school-aged children showed (1) that attention and working memory improved following cognitive training and (2) that cognitive training might be related to cognitive structural changes found pre- to post-training among the variables being measured. Implications for clinical practice and school-based interventions are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Utilizing Cognitive Training to Improve Working Memory, Attention, and Impulsivity in School-Aged Children with ADHD and SLD

et al. 2022

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“…Increasing working memory load has been argued to increase impulsive behavior 42,43 . Not surprisingly, working memory deficits are commonly reported in ADHD children 44–47 and are associated with drug‐seeking in rats 48–51 and SUD in humans 52–54 . In the current study, impulsivity was assessed for 30 days, while working memory was assessed for 25 days.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

An assessment of executive function in two different rat models of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder: Spontaneously hypertensive versus Lphn3 knockout rats

Sable

Lester

Potter

et al. 2021

Genes Brain and Behavior

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Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) a common neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood and often comorbid with other externalizing disorders (EDs). There is evidence that externalizing behaviors share a common genetic etiology. Recently, a genome‐wide, multigenerational sample linked variants in the Lphn3 gene to ADHD and other externalizing behaviors. Likewise, limited research in animal models has provided converging evidence that Lphn3 plays a role in EDs. This study examined the impact of Lphn3 deletion (i.e., Lphn3−/−) in rats on measures of behavioral control associated with externalizing behavior. Impulsivity was assessed for 30 days via a differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) task and working memory evaluated for 25 days using a delayed spatial alternation (DSA) task. Data from both tasks were averaged into 5‐day testing blocks. We analyzed overall performance, as well as response patterns in just the first and last blocks to assess acquisition and steady‐state performance, respectively. “Positive control” measures on the same tasks were measured in an accepted animal model of ADHD–the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Compared with wildtype controls, Lphn3−/− rats exhibited deficits on both the DRL and DSA tasks, indicative of deficits in impulsive action and working memory, respectively. These deficits were less severe than those in the SHRs, who were profoundly impaired on both tasks compared with their control strain, Wistar‐Kyoto rats. The results provide evidence supporting a role for Lphn3 in modulating inhibitory control and working memory, and suggest additional research evaluating the role of Lphn3 in the manifestation of EDs more broadly is warranted.

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“…In fact, evidence shows that PS (indexed by the composite score of both perceptual and graphomotor-cognitive PS) had both direct and indirect effects via working memory on numerical operations in typically developing (TD) children [29] and on mathematic achievement in 8-year-old children with surgically-repaired dextro-transportation of the great arteries (d-TGA) [30], after controlling for attention and general cognitive abilities. De cits in PS and WM are commonly co-existed in children with ADHD [31][32][33], and a signi cant number of children with ADHD also experienced mathematic di culties [1]. It is likely that the relationship between PS and mathematic performance might be mediated by working memory in children with ADHD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between processing speed and math fluency in children with ADHD: The mediating role of working memory

Lee

2022

Preprint

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ADHD is associated with processing speed (PS) deficits and mathematic difficulties. However, the relationships between PS and mathematics in children with ADHD were understudied. The current study investigated the contributions of PS to math fluency (MF) and tested the mediating role of working memory (WM) in the relationships between PS and MF in children with ADHD. Seventy-eight third to fifth graders (ADHD children, n = 52; Typically developing children, n = 26) were tested on their PS (perceptual, graphomotor-cognitive, and phonological), MF, and WM using standardized measures. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that only graphomotor-cognitive PS significantly predicted MF in children with ADHD. Besides, mediation analyses revealed that graphomotor-cognitive PS had both direct and indirect effects via WM on MF. Although such results suggested that slow PS contributed to impaired WM, the current study is unable to determine the directionality of effects due to the nature of research design.

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Working memory and information processing in ADHD: Evidence for directionality of effects.

Cited by 20 publications

References 83 publications

Utilizing Cognitive Training to Improve Working Memory, Attention, and Impulsivity in School-Aged Children with ADHD and SLD

Utilizing Cognitive Training to Improve Working Memory, Attention, and Impulsivity in School-Aged Children with ADHD and SLD

An assessment of executive function in two different rat models of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder: Spontaneously hypertensive versus Lphn3 knockout rats

Relationships between processing speed and math fluency in children with ADHD: The mediating role of working memory

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