Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 539-547 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 14 Jun 2016 |
DOIs | |
Accepted/In press | 1 Jun 2016 |
E-pub ahead of print | 14 Jun 2016 |
Published | Nov 2016 |
Modifiable Arousal in ADHD_JAMES_Accepted 14Jun2016_GOLD VoR
James_et_al_BPCNNI_2016.pdf, 271 KB, application/pdf
Uploaded date:27 Oct 2016
Version:Accepted author manuscript
Licence:CC BY
BACKGROUND: Cognitive theories of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) propose that high within-subject fluctuations of cognitive performance in ADHD, particularly reaction time (RT) variability (RTV), may reflect arousal dysregulation. However, direct evidence of arousal dysregulation and how it may account for fluctuating RTs in ADHD is limited. We used skin conductance (SC) as a measure of peripheral arousal and aimed to investigate its phenotypic and familial association with RTV in a large sample of ADHD and control sibling pairs.
METHODS: Adolescents and young adults (N = 292), consisting of 73 participants with ADHD and their 75 siblings, and 72 controls and their 72 siblings, completed the baseline (slow, unrewarded) and fast-incentive conditions of a RT task, while SC was simultaneously recorded.
RESULTS: A significant group-by-condition interaction emerged for SC level (SCL). Participants with ADHD had decreased SCL, compared with controls, in the baseline condition but not the fast-incentive condition. Baseline SCL was negatively associated with RTV, and multivariate model fitting demonstrated that the covariance of SCL with RTV, and of SCL with ADHD, was mostly explained by shared familial effects.
CONCLUSIONS: ADHD is associated with decreased, but modifiable, tonic peripheral arousal. A shared familial cause underlies the relationship between arousal and RTV and between arousal and ADHD. Given the malleability of SCL, if our findings are replicated, it warrants further exploration as a potential treatment target for ADHD.
King's College London - Homepage
© 2020 King's College London | Strand | London WC2R 2LS | England | United Kingdom | Tel +44 (0)20 7836 5454