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Neural correlates of inhibitory control and visual processing in youths with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a counting Stroop functional MRI study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2014

L.-Y. Fan ,
S. S.-F. Gau  and
T.-L. Chou
L.-Y. Fan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
S. S.-F. Gau*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
T.-L. Chou*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
*
* Address for correspondence: T.-L. Chou, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 106, Taiwan. (Email: tlchou25@ntu.edu.tw) [T.-L. Chou] (Email: gaushufe@ntu.edu.tw) [S. S.-F. Gau]
* Address for correspondence: T.-L. Chou, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 106, Taiwan. (Email: tlchou25@ntu.edu.tw) [T.-L. Chou] (Email: gaushufe@ntu.edu.tw) [S. S.-F. Gau]
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Abstract

Background

Despite evidence of inhibitory control and visual processing impairment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), knowledge about its corresponding alterations in the brain is still evolving. The current study used counting Stroop functional MRI and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to investigate if brain activation of inhibitory control and visual processing would differ in youths with ADHD relative to neurotypical youths.

Method

We assessed 25 youths with ADHD [mean age 10.9 (s.d. = 2.2) years] and 23 age-, gender- and IQ-matched neurotypical youths [mean age 11.2 (s.d. = 2.9) years]. The participants were assessed by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, third edition, and two tests from the CANTAB: rapid visual information processing (RVP) and pattern recognition memory (PRM) outside the scanner.

Results

Youths with ADHD showed more activation than neurotypical youths in the right inferior frontal gyrus [Brodmann area (BA) 45] and anterior cingulate cortex, which were correlated with poorer performance on the RVP test in the CANTAB. In contrast, youths with ADHD showed less activation than neurotypical youths in the left superior parietal lobule (BA 5/7), which was correlated with the percentage of correct responses on the PRM test in the CANTAB.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that youths with ADHD might need more inhibitory control to suppress interference between number and meaning and may involve less visual processing to process the numbers in the counting Stroop task than neurotypical youths.

Keywords

Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB)counting Stroop functional MRIinhibitory controlvisual processing

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 44 , Issue 12 , September 2014 , pp. 2661 - 2671
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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