Abstract
Background: Children with oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) have shown deficits in ‘cool’ abstract-cognitive, and ‘hot’ reward-related executive function (EF) tasks. However, it is currently unclear to what extent ODD/CD is associated with neuropsychological deficits, independently of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods: Fifty-nine adolescents with a history of early-onset oppositional problems, 28 with pure ODD/CD symptoms and 31 with ADHD with or without ODD/CD, and 34 healthy controls were administered a task battery measuring motor response inhibition, sustained attention, cognitive flexibility and reward-related decision-making. Findings were analysed using dimensional and group analyses.
Results: In group analyses both groups with and without ADHD were impaired in EF measures. Dimensional analyses, however, showed that ODD/CD but not ADHD was related to hot EF based on increased risky decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task. ODD/CD was also independently related to aspects of cool EF independently of ADHD, namely slower speeds of inhibitory responding and increased intra-subject variability.
Conclusions: These findings show EF deficits associated with ODD/CD independently of ADHD, and implicate reward-related abnormalities in theories of antisocial behaviour development.
Methods: Fifty-nine adolescents with a history of early-onset oppositional problems, 28 with pure ODD/CD symptoms and 31 with ADHD with or without ODD/CD, and 34 healthy controls were administered a task battery measuring motor response inhibition, sustained attention, cognitive flexibility and reward-related decision-making. Findings were analysed using dimensional and group analyses.
Results: In group analyses both groups with and without ADHD were impaired in EF measures. Dimensional analyses, however, showed that ODD/CD but not ADHD was related to hot EF based on increased risky decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task. ODD/CD was also independently related to aspects of cool EF independently of ADHD, namely slower speeds of inhibitory responding and increased intra-subject variability.
Conclusions: These findings show EF deficits associated with ODD/CD independently of ADHD, and implicate reward-related abnormalities in theories of antisocial behaviour development.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1035-1043 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2011 |
Keywords
- BOYS
- ABNORMALITIES
- executive functioning
- ADHD
- CHILDREN
- BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION
- PURE CONDUCT DISORDER
- ODD
- Neuropsychology
- ATTENTION-DEFICIT-HYPERACTIVITY
- conduct disorder
- IMPULSIVENESS
- DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER
- INHIBITION
- AD/HD