Accommodation and pupil dynamics as potential objective predictors of behavioural performance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

• Published in: Vision research (Oxford) Vol. 175; pp. 32 - 40
• Main Authors: Redondo, Beatriz, Vera, Jesús, Molina, Ruben, Garcia, José Antonio, Catena, Andrés, Muñoz-Hoyos, Antonio, Jimenez, Raimundo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Accommodative response; ADHD; Behavioural predictors; Continuous performance task; Pupil size; Continuous performance task; ADHD; Accommodative response; Pupil size; Behavioural predictors
• ISSN: 0042-6989; 1878-5646
• DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2020.06.005

•Attentional state modulates accommodative response and pupil size.•Ocular indices are associated with attentional performance in ADHD children.•Diagnosis of ADHD could be supported by inclusion or consideration of ocular indices. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently exhibit different types of visual deficits. This study investigates the dynamics of ocular accommodation and pupil size in a population of children with ADHD (6–14 years old) and assesses the association between these ocular variables with behavioural performance during a continuous performance task. The accommodation and pupil dynamics (magnitude and variability) were objectively measured, using the WAM-5500 auto-refractor, during the execution of a ~14-min continuous performance task in a sample of twenty-three non-medicated children with ADHD and thirty-one controls of a similar age range. Our data revealed that children with ADHD present a reduced accommodative response (higher lags of accommodation) during the execution of a continuous performance task. However, no group-differences were observed for the other ocular indices. Both groups experienced changes in all ocular variables as a function of time-on-task. The variability of accommodation and pupil diameter were associated with several indicators of behavioural performance for the ADHD group. However, no bivariate correlations were found for the control group. The current outcomes suggest that the accommodation and pupil dynamics may be considered as potential predictors of behavioural performance, which could help to improve the robustness of ADHD diagnosis.