OBJECTIVE: Patients with ADHD are typically more variable in their reaction times (RT) than control children. Signal processing analyses have shown that time series RT data of children with ADHD have a distinctive low frequency periodic structure suggestive of a pattern of occasional spontaneous performance lapses. Here we use a fine-grained analysis of spectral power across a broader frequency range to differentiate the periodic qualities of ADHD time series RT data from (a) 1/frequency noise, and (b) control performance. We also assess the familiality of these frequencies by using a proband-sibling design. METHOD: Seventy-one children with ADHD, one of their siblings, and 50 control participants completed a simple RT task. Power across the RT frequency spectrum was calculated. The frequencies significantly differentiating the two groups were identified. Familiality was assessed in two ways: first, by comparing probands with their unaffected siblings and controls, and, second, by investigating the siblings of neuropsychologically impaired and unimpaired children with ADHD. RESULTS: Analyses converged to highlight the potential importance of the .20-.26 Hz band in differentiating the periodic structure of ADHD RT time series data from both 1/frequency noise and control performance. This frequency band also showed the strongest evidence of familiality. CONCLUSIONS: RT performance of children with ADHD had a distinctive periodic structure. The band identified as most differentiating and familial was at a higher frequency than in most previous reports. This highlights the importance of employing tasks with faster interstimulus intervals that will allow a larger portion of the frequency spectrum to be examined.
OBJECTIVE:Patients with ADHD are typically more variable in their reaction times (RT) than control children. Signal processing analyses have shown that time series RT data of children with ADHD have a distinctive low frequency periodic structure suggestive of a pattern of occasional spontaneous performance lapses. Here we use a fine-grained analysis of spectral power across a broader frequency range to differentiate the periodic qualities of ADHD time series RT data from (a) 1/frequency noise, and (b) control performance. We also assess the familiality of these frequencies by using a proband-sibling design. METHOD: Seventy-one children with ADHD, one of their siblings, and 50 control participants completed a simple RT task. Power across the RT frequency spectrum was calculated. The frequencies significantly differentiating the two groups were identified. Familiality was assessed in two ways: first, by comparing probands with their unaffected siblings and controls, and, second, by investigating the siblings of neuropsychologically impaired and unimpaired children with ADHD. RESULTS: Analyses converged to highlight the potential importance of the .20-.26 Hz band in differentiating the periodic structure of ADHD RT time series data from both 1/frequency noise and control performance. This frequency band also showed the strongest evidence of familiality. CONCLUSIONS: RT performance of children with ADHD had a distinctive periodic structure. The band identified as most differentiating and familial was at a higher frequency than in most previous reports. This highlights the importance of employing tasks with faster interstimulus intervals that will allow a larger portion of the frequency spectrum to be examined.
Authors: Bernd Feige; Monica Biscaldi; Christopher W N Saville; Christian Kluckert; Stephan Bender; Ulrich Ebner-Priemer; Klaus Hennighausen; Reinhold Rauh; Christian Fleischhaker; Christoph Klein Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-10-02 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Liam J B Hill; Rachel O Coats; Faisal Mushtaq; Justin H G Williams; Lorna S Aucott; Mark Mon-Williams Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-07-19 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Simone Gazzellini; Maria Dettori; Francesca Amadori; Barbara Paoli; Antonio Napolitano; Francesco Mancini; Cristina Ottaviani Journal: Front Hum Neurosci Date: 2016-12-27 Impact factor: 3.169
Authors: Adam C Cunningham; Liam Hill; Mark Mon-Williams; Kathryn J Peall; David E J Linden; Jeremy Hall; Michael J Owen; Marianne B M van den Bree Journal: J Neurodev Disord Date: 2019-06-10 Impact factor: 4.074