Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Creativity, and the Effects of Methylphenidate

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 816-819
Author(s):  
Jeanne B. Funk ◽  
John B. Chessare ◽  
Michael T. Weaver ◽  
Anita R. Exley

Given that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more impulsive than peers, this study explored whether they are correspondingly more creative, and whether creativity declines when impulsivity is decreased through methylphenidate (Ritalin) therapy. A repeated-measures quasi-experimental design was used to compare the performance of 19 boys with previously diagnosed ADHD and 21 comparison boys aged 8 through 11 on two administrations of alternate forms of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural (nonverbal). Boys with ADHD received prescribed methylphenidate only for the first session. Overall, mean Torrance summary scores for comparison boys (mean = 115.1, SD = 16.1) were higher than for boys with ADHD (mean = 107.6, SD = 12.7). However, the difference between means was small (7%) and did not meet the 25% criterion for a clinically significant difference. No changes in performance over time (comparison group) or medication state (ADHD group) were observed. These data suggest that, when measured nonverbally, the creative thinking performance of boys with ADHD is not superior to that of peers who do not have ADHD. Regarding the effects of methylphenidate, prescribed therapy did not influence performance on this measure of creative thinking.

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-88
Author(s):  
J. B. Savitz ◽  
P. Jansen

The literature on the neuropsychology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is plagued by inconsistent findings, which are usually attributed to a variety of extraneous variables. One of the most inadequately explored of these variables is the difference between ADHD children attending remedial and mainstream schools. This study aimed to investigate whether the performance of remedial and mainstream school ADHD boys differs on relevant neuropsychological tasks. The sample consisted of three groups of 8- to 12-year-old boys. Two of these groups consisted of children with ADHD: one from remedial schools and one from mainstream schools. The third group was made up of participants without ADHD, who attended mainstream schools. The performance of the remedial school learners on the Stroop, Lurian and cancellation tasks was investigated and compared to a mainstream school ADHD sample. The performance of the ADHD group as a whole was compared with that of a control group. No significant difference in performance was found between the two ADHD groups, except for the length of time taken to read words in the control condition of the Stroop. The control group out-performed the ADHD samples on the Stroop, Lurian and cancellation tasks. The findings suggest that mainstream and remedial ADHD boys do not differ in the severity of their executive deficits, but that boys with ADHD attending remedial schools may be more likely to have another learning disorder than their counterparts at mainstream schools.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitri Marques Abramov ◽  
Carlos Alberto Mourão ◽  
Carla Quero Cunha ◽  
Monique Castro Pontes ◽  
Paulo Ricardo Galhanone ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundVarious functional asymmetries detected by different neurophysiological and neuroimaging methods have been reported in the literature on the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), some of them pointing to the right hemisphere activity. In our attempt to discriminate the ADHD patients from normal subjects by hierarchical clustering of behavioural, psychological and event related potential (ERP) variables, the late P3 component of potentials from the right central region (C4) proved to be one of the most informative parameters (in preparation for publication). Here, we have studied the differences in ERPs between the left (C3) and right (C4) central leads and relation of this asymmetry to ADHD diagnosed using DSM.Methods20 typically developing (TD) boys and 19 boys diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV-TR, aged 10-13 years, were examined by the Attentional Network Test (ANT), with simultaneous recording of the respective ERPs. The intergroup differences in the ERP amplitude parameters in the left (C3) and right (C4) central channels and in the difference in these parameters between the two channels (C3 minus C4) were accessed. These characteristics were compared to the subjects DSM scores and ANT performance.ResultsThe target-related potentials late characteristics from the C4 and C3 did not shown significant difference between the groups. The difference between ERPs of the C3 and C4 channels inside the interval of 40-290 ms after target onset was larger in the ADHD group than in control, mainly for incongruent target condition. This asymmetry and right late component were correlated with DSM scores, mainly to hyperactive and impulsive criteria.ConclusionIn ADHD patients, the results suggest ERP pattern of right-side functional predominance in the motor control, which correlates to DSM scores, mainly to hyperactive and impulsive criteria.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Sena Tosun ◽  
Ayse Vural Ozec ◽  
Haydar Erdogan ◽  
Erman Bozali ◽  
Duygu Yalınbas Yeter ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Examination of retinal nerve, ganglion cell layer thickness and choroidal thickness in patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Method : 30 individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and 30 healthy individuals compatible in terms of age and gender who applied to the Ophthalmology outpatient clinic for control were included in the study. The right and left eye data of the participants were used in statistical analysis. In addition to full ophthalmological examination (best corrected visual acuity, biomicroscopy, fundus examination), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL) and macular choroidal thickness (MCT) were measured by OCT. RNFL, GCL and MCT measurements were compared between the groups. Conclusion There was no significant difference between the RNFL and GCL thickness values of the individuals in both groups (p > 0.05). When compared in terms of choroidal thickness, left eye su bfoveal choroidal thickness (p = 0.036, p < 0.05) and 2 mm temporal choroidal thickness were significantly higher in the ADHD group than in the control group (p = 0.034, p < 0.05). Discussion The aim of this study was to determine the clinical features of the eyes of children with ADHD. Cross-sectional studies with larger participation are needed to determine RNFL, GCL and choroidal changes.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuo-Chung Chu ◽  
Hsin-Ke Lu ◽  
Ming-Chun Huang ◽  
Shr-Jie Lin ◽  
Wen-I Liu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurobehavioral disorder, display behaviors of inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, which can affect their ability to learn and establish proper family and social relationships. Various tools are currently used by child and adolescent psychiatric clinics to diagnose, evaluate, and collect information and data. The tools allow professional physicians to assess if patients need further treatment, following a thorough and careful clinical diagnosis process. OBJECTIVE We aim to determine potential indicators extracted from a mobile electroencephalography (EEG) device (Mindset; NeuroSky) and an actigraph (MotionWatch 8; CamNtech) and to validate them for diagnosis of ADHD. The 3 indicators are (1) attention, measured by the EEG; (2) meditation, measured by the EEG; and (3) activity, measured by the actigraph. METHODS A total of 63 participants were recruited. The case group comprised 40 boys and 9 girls, while the control group comprised 5 boys and 9 girls. The groups were age matched. The test was divided into 3 stages—pretest, in-test, and posttest—with a testing duration of 20 minutes each. We used correlation analysis, repeated measures analysis of variance, and regression analysis to investigate which indicators can be used for ADHD diagnosis. RESULTS With the EEG indicators, the analysis results show a significant correlation of attention with both hit reaction time (RT) interstimulus interval (ISI) change (<i>r</i>=–0.368; <i>P</i>=.003) and hit standard error (SE) ISI change (<i>r</i>=–0.336; <i>P</i>=.007). This indicates that the higher the attention of the participants, the smaller both the hit RT change and the hit SE ISI change. With the actigraph indicator, confidence index (<i>r</i>=0.352; <i>P</i>=.005), omissions (<i>r</i>=0.322; <i>P</i>=.01), hit RT SE (<i>r</i>=0.393; <i>P</i>=.001), and variability (<i>r</i>=0.351; <i>P</i>=.005) were significant. This indicates that the higher the activity amounts, the higher the impulsive behavior of the participants and the more target omissions in the continuous performance test (CPT). The results show that the participants with ADHD present a significant difference in activity amounts (<i>P</i>&lt;0.001). The actigraph outperforms the EEG in screening ADHD. CONCLUSIONS When the participants with ADHD are stimulated under restricted conditions, they will present different amounts of activity than in unrestricted conditions due to participants’ inability to exercise control over their concentration. This finding could be a new electronic physiological biomarker of ADHD. An actigraph can be used to detect the amount of activity exhibited and to help physicians diagnose the disorder in order to develop more objective, rapid auxiliary diagnostic tools. CLINICALTRIAL This research was supported by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CMRPG 3F1581 and CORPG 3F0751) and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (No. 104-5397B) on October 01, 2015.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 541-548
Author(s):  
Rania A. Hamed ◽  
Heba A. Elmalt ◽  
Abeer A. A. Salama ◽  
Safaa M. Hammouda ◽  
Eman R. Youness ◽  
...  

Many authors have suggested the association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and inflammation through various mechanisms among which increased serum cytokines.30 newly diagnosed ADHD children, aged 6-12and of both sexes were collected from outpatient clinic, Psychiatry Department, Al Zahraa University Hospital and a matched control group of 30 children. They were subjected to Clinical assessment, Whechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC), Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised & serum MMP-2, MMP-9, TNF-α levels were determined. There was statistical significant difference between patient and control groups regarding MMP-2 level (648.50 ± 81.94 vs 344.13 ± 32.02), MMP-9 level (143.00±16.98 vs 102.90 ± 4.13) & TNF-α level (345 ± 7.1.vs 202 ± 22.3). Hyperactive/impulsive subtype represented 16(53.3%), Inattentive subtype represented 6(20%), Combined subtype represented 8(26.7%) of the ADHD group. MMP-2, MMP-9, TNF-α levels were all higher among the Hyperactive/impulsive subtype, followed by thecombined subtype then the Inattentive subtype with high statistical significant difference. A high statistical significant difference was found in all subscales of Conners' scale among the 3 subtypes of ADHD. A positive correlation was found between TNF-α level and age, whereas, a negative correlation exists between MMP-2, MMP-9, TNF-α level and IQ. In addition, correlation was found between MMP-2, MMP-9 levels and cognitive problems, TNF-α level and inattention.Our study illustrates the co-occurrence of inflammatory process and ADHD, but further studies on larger sample are needed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artemios Pehlivanidis ◽  
Katerina Papanikolaou ◽  
Vasilios Mantas ◽  
Eva Kalantzi ◽  
Kalliopi Korobili ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Co-occurring psychiatric disorders in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) contribute to the burden of the healthcare and possibly to the delay of diagnosis. Aim of the study was to clinically assess the prevalence and compare lifetime co-occurring psychopathology in a sample of newly diagnosed ADHD and/or ASD adults and discuss the diagnostic challenges they pose.Methods: The lifetime prevalence rates of ten of the most frequently co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses was registered in 336 adults of normal intelligence who underwent a thorough clinical evaluation for the diagnosis of ADHD and/or ASD for the first time in their lives. Four study groups were formed: the ADHD (n=151), the ASD (n=58), the ADHD+ASD (n=28) and the nonADHD/nonASD (NN) (n=88) group. Results: At least one co-occurring psychopathology was found in 72.8% of the ADHD group, in 50% of the ASD group, in 72.4% of the ADHD+ASD group and in 76.1% of the NN group (p=0.004). In all groups the most frequent psychiatric disorder was depressive disorder. The only significant difference regarding the patterns of psychiatric co-occurrence between the ADHD and the nonADHD groups (ASD and NN groups) was found for SUD (p=0.001). Also, the proportion of subjects with Bipolar Disorder was significantly greater in the NN group as compared to those with ASD (p=0.025). Conclusions: Our results support the high prevalence of co-occurring psychiatric disorders in adults with ADHD and/or ASD with the ASD group presenting the lowest rate. The most marked difference between the ADHD and the nonADHD groups was found for SUD. Moreover, our findings highlight the need for a thorough clinical assessment of all referred patients both in the presence and absence of ADHD and/or ASD.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artemios Pehlivanidis ◽  
Katerina Papanikolaou ◽  
Vasilios Mantas ◽  
Eva Kalantzi ◽  
Kalliopi Korobili ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Co-occurring psychiatric disorders in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) contribute to the burden of the healthcare and possibly to the delay of diagnosis. Aim of the study was to clinically assess the prevalence and compare lifetime co-occurring psychopathology in a sample of newly diagnosed ADHD and/or ASD adults and discuss the diagnostic challenges they pose.Methods The lifetime prevalence rates of ten of the most frequently co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses was registered in 336 adults of normal intelligence who underwent a thorough clinical evaluation for the diagnosis of ADHD and/or ASD for the first time in their lives. Four study groups were formed: the ADHD (n = 151), the ASD (n = 58), the ADHD + ASD (n = 28) and the nonADHD/nonASD (NN) (n = 88) group.Results At least one co-occurring psychopathology was found in 72.8% of the ADHD group, in 50% of the ASD group, in 72.4% of the ADHD + ASD group and in 76.1% of the NN group (p = 0.004). In all groups the most frequent psychiatric disorder was depressive disorder. The only significant difference regarding the patterns of psychiatric co-occurrence between the ADHD, the ASD and NN groups was found for substance use disorder (SUD) (p = 0.001). Also, the proportion of subjects with Bipolar Disorder was significantly greater in the NN group as compared to those with ASD (p = 0.025).Conclusions Our results support the high prevalence of co-occurring psychiatric disorders in adults with ADHD and/or ASD with the ASD group presenting the lowest rate. The most marked difference between the ADHD and the nonADHD groups was found for SUD. Moreover, our findings highlight the need for a thorough clinical assessment of all referred patients both in the presence and absence of ADHD and/or ASD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doglas Gobbi Marchesi ◽  
Jovana Gobbi Marchesi Ciriaco ◽  
Gustavo Peixoto Soares Miguel ◽  
Gustavo Adolfo Pavan Batista ◽  
Camila Pereira Cabral ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze possible negative effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on the success of bariatric surgery. Methods: we evaluated forty patients undergoing bariatric surgery and with regular post-operative follow-up of at least one year. To all, we applied the questionnaire advocated in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association for ADHD, as well as analyzed their postoperative data. Results: fifteen (38%) patients presented a positive questionnaire for ADHD. Patients with ADHD presented higher BMI than patients without the disorder (45.8 vs. 40.9 kg/m2, p=0.017), and the difference remained in all postoperative stages. There was no statistically significant difference in surgery success (33.3% x 66.7%, p=0.505) or in BMI reduction (30.71% x 31.88%, p=0.671) one year after the procedure. Conclusion: ADHD patients have a higher BMI. However, the presence of ADHD does not influence the success of bariatric surgery and the reduction of BMI.


2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Firoozeh Derakhshanpour ◽  
Maryam Azarakhsh ◽  
Mohammad Ali Vakili ◽  
Somayeh Ahmadabadi

Background: Teachers are regarded to have a key role in the diagnosis, referral, implementation, and follow-up interventions and treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the teachers’ knowledge, attitude, and function related to ADHD and evaluate the effectiveness of a training program in this regard. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on teachers in the elementary schools of Gorgan, Iran, in 2014. A total of six one-day workshops were held. In each workshop, 24 teachers were trained about ADHD for 4 h. Teachers’ knowledge, attitude, and function were assessed before, immediately after the workshops, and 2 weeks later. The data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA), repeated-measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Results: The results revealed that older (P < 0.05) and more experienced teachers (P < 0.05), those working at public schools (P < 0.001), and teachers without higher education (P < 0.05) had significantly lower levels of knowledge and less positive attitude toward children with ADHD. In addition, differences between the mean scores before and after the intervention for knowledge (P < 0.001) and attitude (P < 0.001) were statistically significant. Conclusions: Training teachers could improve the teachers’ knowledge and attitude toward ADHD. Workshop education appears to be an effective and efficient training method that can decrease the awareness gap between teachers with different experiences and education levels.


10.2196/12158 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. e12158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuo-Chung Chu ◽  
Hsin-Ke Lu ◽  
Ming-Chun Huang ◽  
Shr-Jie Lin ◽  
Wen-I Liu ◽  
...  

Background Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurobehavioral disorder, display behaviors of inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, which can affect their ability to learn and establish proper family and social relationships. Various tools are currently used by child and adolescent psychiatric clinics to diagnose, evaluate, and collect information and data. The tools allow professional physicians to assess if patients need further treatment, following a thorough and careful clinical diagnosis process. Objective We aim to determine potential indicators extracted from a mobile electroencephalography (EEG) device (Mindset; NeuroSky) and an actigraph (MotionWatch 8; CamNtech) and to validate them for diagnosis of ADHD. The 3 indicators are (1) attention, measured by the EEG; (2) meditation, measured by the EEG; and (3) activity, measured by the actigraph. Methods A total of 63 participants were recruited. The case group comprised 40 boys and 9 girls, while the control group comprised 5 boys and 9 girls. The groups were age matched. The test was divided into 3 stages—pretest, in-test, and posttest—with a testing duration of 20 minutes each. We used correlation analysis, repeated measures analysis of variance, and regression analysis to investigate which indicators can be used for ADHD diagnosis. Results With the EEG indicators, the analysis results show a significant correlation of attention with both hit reaction time (RT) interstimulus interval (ISI) change (r=–0.368; P=.003) and hit standard error (SE) ISI change (r=–0.336; P=.007). This indicates that the higher the attention of the participants, the smaller both the hit RT change and the hit SE ISI change. With the actigraph indicator, confidence index (r=0.352; P=.005), omissions (r=0.322; P=.01), hit RT SE (r=0.393; P=.001), and variability (r=0.351; P=.005) were significant. This indicates that the higher the activity amounts, the higher the impulsive behavior of the participants and the more target omissions in the continuous performance test (CPT). The results show that the participants with ADHD present a significant difference in activity amounts (P<0.001). The actigraph outperforms the EEG in screening ADHD. Conclusions When the participants with ADHD are stimulated under restricted conditions, they will present different amounts of activity than in unrestricted conditions due to participants’ inability to exercise control over their concentration. This finding could be a new electronic physiological biomarker of ADHD. An actigraph can be used to detect the amount of activity exhibited and to help physicians diagnose the disorder in order to develop more objective, rapid auxiliary diagnostic tools.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document