Cross-sectional evaluation of cognitive functioning in children, adolescents and young adults with ADHD

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often persists into adulthood, albeit with changes in clinical symptoms throughout the life span. Although effect sizes of neuropsychological deficits in ADHD are well established, developmental approaches have rarely been explored and little is yet known about age-dependent changes in cognitive dysfunction from childhood to adulthood. In this cross-sectional study, 20 male children (8-12 years), 20 adolescents (13-16 years), and 20 adults (18-40 years) with ADHD and a matched control group were investigated using six experimental paradigms tapping into different domains of cognitive dysfunction. Subjects with ADHD were more delay-aversive and showed deficits in time discrimination and time reproduction, but they were not impaired in working memory, interference control or time production. Independent of age, the most robust group differences were observed with respect to delay aversion and time reproduction, pointing to persistent dysfunction in the mesolimbic reward circuitry and in the frontal-striatal-cerebellar timing system in subjects with ADHD. Across all tasks, effect sizes were lowest for adolescents with ADHD compared to age-matched controls. Developmental dissociations were found only for simple stimuli comparison, which was particularly impaired in ADHD children. Thus, in line with current multiple-pathway approaches to ADHD, our data suggest that deficits in different cognitive domains are persistent across the lifespan, albeit less pronounced in adolescents with ADHD.

Dysfunction of Time Perception in Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

“…But when children and adults were analyzed separately, only children presented the underreproduction of longer time duration compared to controls. Contrary to previous studies, 14,15) our results which showed no correlation between accuracy of time reproduction and aging can be explained as follows: we confined participants to children and adolescents, whereas the previous two studies 14,15) had included adults. Because of the absence of the adult group in our sample, our results may not reflect a more definite age effect and developmental trajectory continuing into adulthood was not observed in ADHD population.…”

“…Marx et al 14) found a general time reproduction deficit in 20 children, 20 adolescents, and 20 adults with ADHD. However, time reproduction error tended to decline with increasing age in ADHD.…”

“…12,13) However, the age-related developmental change in time perception ability in ADHD remains unknown. To the best of our knowledge, only two cross-sectional studies 14,15) have reported the developmental course of time perception in ADHD by comparing age groups. Marx et al 14) compared time perception tasks in children and adults with ADHD.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, only two cross-sectional studies 14,15) have reported the developmental course of time perception in ADHD by comparing age groups. Marx et al 14) compared time perception tasks in children and adults with ADHD. They found less time reproduction error in adults with ADHD than in the children group, but timing function deficits seem to persist into adulthood compared to age and IQ matched healthy controls.…”

Temporal reproduction and its neuroanatomical correlates in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives

“…however abnormalities persisted into adulthood in individuals with ADHD compared to controls (Marx et al, 2010).…”