Clustering and switching on verbal and figural fluency functions in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

The results of the present study suggest that adult patients with ADHD may suffer from a dysfunction that may affect retrieval processes and the categorisation of knowledge.

Verbal fluency in children with ADHD: Strategy using and temporal properties

“…Classical scoring of the verbal fluency tasks records the number of correctly generated words and the number of errors which informs us about divergent thinking and executive or language dysfunctions (Lezak, 1995). Most of the studies report phonemic fluency differences in ADHD (Grodzinsky & Diamond, 1992;Loge, Staton, & Beatty, 1990;Sergeant, et al, 2002), but opposite results can be found as well (Fischer, Barkley, Edelbrock, & Smallish, 1990;McGee, Williams, Moffitt, & Anderson, 1989;Reader, Harris, Schuerholz, & Denckla, 1994;Tucha, et al, 2005), where differences were found solely in semantic fluency. These previous findings usually do not explain the reason behind differences of verbal fluency achievement, but it is supposed that phonemic fluency depends on EF more than semantic fluency.…”

“…If the fluency scoring protocol measures the number and types of clusters, i.e., a group of similar words, and the switching between those in the oral performance, then it could result in more sensitive indices of language and executive computation (Tucha, et al, 2005). This different approach of verbal fluency focuses on the better specified individual cognitive profiles due to including additional tasks relying on separate skills of strategy using.…”

“…Only one study concerning ADHD focused on the strategic scoring opportunities in verbal fluency tasks (Tucha, et al, 2005), nonetheless the classical (quantitative) analysis shows, as it is, a part of the real achievement. If the fluency scoring protocol measures the number and types of clusters, i.e., a group of similar words, and the switching between those in the oral performance, then it could result in more sensitive indices of language and executive computation (Tucha, et al, 2005).…”

“…Verbal fluency tasks have been commonly used in neuropsychological assessment to detect executive dysfunctions and lexical access (Matute, Rosselli, Ardila, & Morales, 2004;Sergeant, et al, 2002;Tucha et al, 2005). Solving these tasks requires control of organized search, generation of items within a specific category (semantic or phonemic), and respect to the time limit (which is usually sixty seconds) to produce a self-generated strategy for finding the relevant items, or at least inhibit the irrelevant ones (Matute, et al, 2004).…”

Effects of methylphenidate on memory functions of adults with ADHD

“…A clinical evaluation of symptoms and impairments of patients with ADHD benefits from an objective assessment of neuropsychological functions using standardized psychometric tests. Most theories on neuropsychological functions of adults with ADHD proposed a primary deficit of inhibitory executive functions (Barkley, 1997;Castellanos, Sonuga-Barke, Milham, & Tannock, 2006;Tannock, 1998) which resulted in a large body of research examining various functions associated with executive control, including focused attention, divided attention, vigilance, working memory, inhibition, set-shifting, verbal fluency, and problem solving (Boonstra, Kooij, Oosterlaan, Sergeant, & Buitelaar, 2010;Boonstra, Oosterlaan, Sergeant, & Buitelaar, 2005;Dinn, Robbins, & Harris, 2011;Fuermaier et al, 2015;Hervey, Epstein, & Curry, 2004;Lange et al, 2014;Schoechlin & Engel, 2005;O. Tucha et al, 2005, L. Tucha et al, 2008, 2009.…”