An Application of Time Series Analysis to Single-Case Designs in an Intensive Behavioral Intervention for ADHD.

Objective: Although treatment research has relied upon group-based methods to understand treatment response, these methods often are unable to detect intraindividual changes in behavior. Single case designs using time series analyses, in contrast, may be ideal for examining intraindividual variability in treatment response over time. The current proof-of-concept study applies time series analysis to four youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a behavioral treatment program to characterize how their behavior changes over time.

The Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale: Updated Factor Structure, Measurement Invariance, and National Caregiver Norms.

Objective: To provide the first caregiver-report national norms for the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale (DBDRS) and an updated evaluation of its factor structure and measurement invariance across child sex, informant sex, and child age.

Methods: Caregivers of children aged 5-12 years (N = 962) based in the United States completed the four DBDRS subscales. Using both severity scoring and dichotomous scoring procedures, confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-factor model of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, oppositional defiant symptoms, and conduct disorder symptoms.

The impact of ADHD symptom severity on reinforcement and punishment learning among adults.

Aberrations in feedback learning are hypothesised to contribute to the behavioural disruptions and impairment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, few studies have evaluated the relation of reward/punishment feedback and ADHD symptom severity on learning. The current study evaluates the differential effects of reward and punishment feedback on learning among adults with elevated ADHD.

A critical review of hot executive functioning in youth attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Methodological limitations, conceptual considerations, and future directions.

Hot executive functioning (EF) - EF under emotionally or motivationally salient conditions - is a putative etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior problems (DBPs), and their related impairments. Despite two decades of research, the present study is the first review of the construct in youth ADHD, with a particular focus on the role of task design, age, and DBPs, as well as relevant conceptual and methodological considerations. While certain hot EF tasks have been investigated extensively (e.

Inhibitory Control, Conduct Problems, and Callous Unemotional Traits in Children with ADHD and Typically Developing Children.

Compared children with CP/ADHD, CPCU/ADHD, ADHD-only, and controls on two measures of inhibitory control: a Simon/flanker task that measured response selection and a stop signal task that measured response inhibition. Results showed: (a) ADHD was associated with both measures of inhibitory control; (b) control children had better overall performance and ADHD-only had worse response selection than the CP groups; and (c) children with CPCU/ADHD had better response inhibition than children with ADHD-only or CP/ADHD. Results suggest inhibitory control dysfunction is associated with ADHD rather than CP and that response inhibition dysfunction distinguishes children with CP/ADHD from children with CPCU/ADHD.

Computational modeling reveals strategic and developmental differences in the behavioral impact of reward across adolescence.

Studies of reward effects on behavior in adolescence typically rely on performance metrics that confound myriad cognitive and non-cognitive processes, making it challenging to determine which process is impacted by reward. The present longitudinal study applied the diffusion decision model to a reward task to isolate the influence of reward on response caution from influences of processing and motor speed. Participants completed three annual assessments from early to middle adolescence (N = 387, 55% female, M = 12.

Brief report: Evaluation of working memory deficits in children with ADHD using the NIH list sorting working memory task.

Variability in working memory (WM) task selection likely contributes to heterogeneity in effect size estimates of deficiencies in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This has resulted in the development of brief, easy to administer assessments such as the NIH List Sorting Working Memory (LSWM) task from the NIH Cognitive Toolbox in hopes of standardizing measurement of this construct. Unfortunately, substantial questions persist regarding the specific constructs being evaluated by this task (e.

Executive Functioning and Activity in Children: a Multimethod Examination of Working Memory, Inhibition, and Hyperactivity.

Two primary methods of quantifying executive functioning include self- or other-reports (i.e., questionnaire-based EF) and cognitive test performance (i.

Psychometric evaluation of the pediatric applied cognition scale in pediatric hematology/oncology.

Pediatric patients with hematology and oncology conditions often experience disease- and treatment-related neurocognitive deficits. Well-validated screening tools are critical for identifying patients experiencing cognitive impairments. The Pediatric Applied Cognition scale (PAC) Short Form, developed by the National Institutes of Health, assesses attention and memory concerns.

Baseline performance moderates stimulant effects on cognition in youth with ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is associated with impaired cognitive functioning and increased delay discounting (i.e., a stronger preference for immediate reward).

Which 'Working' Components of Working Memory aren't Working in Youth with ADHD?

Despite replicated evidence for working memory deficits in youth with ADHD, no study has comprehensively assessed all three primary 'working' subcomponents of the working memory system in these children. Children ages 8-13 with (n = 45) and without (n = 41) ADHD (40% female; M = 10.5; 65% Caucasian/Non-Hispanic) completed a counterbalanced battery of nine tasks (three per construct) assessing working memory reordering (maintaining and rearranging information in mind), updating (active monitoring of incoming information and replacing outdated with relevant information), and dual-processing (maintaining information in mind while performing a secondary task).

What cognitive processes are "sluggish" in sluggish cognitive tempo?

Objective: Sluggish cognitive tempo refers to a constellation of symptoms that include slowed behavior/thinking, reduced alertness, and getting lost in one's thoughts. Despite the moniker "sluggish cognitive tempo," the evidence is mixed regarding the extent to which it is associated globally with slowed (sluggish) mental (cognitive) information processing speed (tempo).

Method: A well-characterized clinical sample of 132 children ages 8-13 years (M = 10.

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

Objective: Children with ADHD demonstrate impaired performance on a wide range of neuropsychological tests. It is unclear, however, whether ADHD is associated with many neurocognitive deficits or whether a small number of impairment(s) broadly influence test performance. The current study tests competing model predictions regarding two candidate causal mechanisms in ADHD: information processing speed and working memory.

The development of inhibitory control in adolescence and prospective relations with delinquency.

Introduction: Despite the central role of inhibitory control in models of adolescent development, few studies have examined the longitudinal development of inhibitory control within adolescence and its prospective association with maladaptive outcomes. The current study evaluated: 1) growth in inhibitory control from early- to middle-adolescence, and 2) the relation between inhibitory control and later delinquency.

Methods: Participants included 387 parent-child dyads (11-13 years old at Wave 1; 55% female; USA).

Mind the gap: A review and recommendations for statistically evaluating Dual Systems models of adolescent risk behavior.

According to Dual Systems models (Casey et al., 2008; Luna and Wright, 2016; Steinberg, 2008), a rapidly-developing socioemotional system and gradually-developing cognitive control system characterize adolescent brain development. The imbalance hypothesis forwarded by Dual Systems models posits that the magnitude of the imbalance between these two developing systems should predict the propensity for engaging in a variety of risk behaviors.

Inhibitory Control and Information Processing in ADHD: Comparing the Dual Task and Performance Adjustment Hypotheses.

Inhibition is a key neurocognitive domain in ADHD that is commonly assessed with the stop-signal task. The stop-signal involves both "go" and "stop" trials; previous research indicates that response times are reliably slower to "go" trials during tasks with vs. without intermittent "stop" trials.

Parent and child neurocognitive functioning predict response to behavioral parent training for youth with ADHD.

Parental cognitive functioning is thought to play a key role in parenting behavior and may inform response to behavioral intervention. This open-label pilot study examined the extent to which parent and child cognition impacted response to behavioral parent training for children with ADHD. Fifty-four participants (27 parent-child dyads; M = 10.

How do stimulant treatments for ADHD work? Evidence for mediation by improved cognition.

Background: Stimulant medications such as methylphenidate (MPH) are the frontline treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Despite their well-documented efficacy, the mechanisms by which stimulants improve clinical outcomes are not clear. The current study evaluated whether MPH effects on classroom behavior were mediated by improved cognitive functioning.

Acute Stimulant Treatment and Reinforcement Increase the Speed of Information Accumulation in Children with ADHD.

The current studies utilized drift diffusion modeling (DDM) to examine how reinforcement and stimulant medication affect cognitive task performance in children with ADHD. In Study 1, children with (n = 25; 88 % male) and without ADHD (n = 33; 82 % male) completed a 2-choice discrimination task at baseline (100 trials) and again a week later under alternating reinforcement and no-reinforcement contingencies (400 trials total). In Study 2, participants with ADHD (n = 29; 72 % male) completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 0.

Relating lab to life: Decrements in attention over time predict math productivity among children with ADHD.

A child's ability to sustain attention over time (AOT) is critical in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet no prior work has examined the extent to which a child's decrement in AOT on laboratory tasks relates to clinically-relevant behavior. The goal of this study is to provide initial evidence for the criterion validity of laboratory assessments of AOT. A total of 20 children with ADHD (7-12 years of age) who were enrolled in a summer treatment program completed two lab attention tasks (a continuous performance task and a self-paced choice discrimination task) and math seatwork.

Reinforcement and Stimulant Medication Ameliorate Deficient Response Inhibition in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

This study examined the degree to which reinforcement, stimulant medication, and their combination impact response inhibition in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Across three studies, participants with ADHD (n = 111, 25 girls) and typically-developing (TD) controls (n = 33, 6 girls) completed a standard version of the stop signal task (SST) and/or a reinforcement-manipulation SST with performance-contingent points. In two of these studies, these tasks were performed under placebo or 0.

Evaluating cognitive and motivational accounts of greater reinforcement effects among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is associated with cognitive deficits and dysregulated motivation. Reinforcement improves cognitive performance, often to a greater degree among children with ADHD compared to typically-developing controls. The current study tests the degree to which cognitive (individual differences in baseline cognition) and/or motivational (individual differences in Sensitivity to Reward; SR) processes can account for diagnostic group differences in reinforcement effects.

Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness.

In this paper we propose an integrative model of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (HRE) that links behavioral- and neural-based explanations of reinforcement. We argue that HRE is a fundamental property of reinforcing stimuli. Most reinforcement models implicitly suggest that the effectiveness of a reinforcer is stable across repeated presentations.