Exogenous orienting of visual-spatial attention in ADHD children

• Published in: Brain research Vol. 1493; pp. 68 - 79
• Main Authors: Ortega, Rodrigo, López, Vladimir, Carrasco, Ximena, Anllo-Vento, Lourdes, Aboitiz, Francisco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: ADHD; Age; Attention; Attention - physiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Auditory evoked potentials; Biological and medical sciences; brain; Child; Child clinical studies; Children; CNV; Cues; EEG; Electroencephalography; ERP; Event-related potentials; Evoked Potentials, Visual; Evoked Potentials, Visual - physiology; Exogenous orienting; Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; human behavior; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Neurology; Orientation; Orientation - physiology; Photic Stimulation; physiology; physiopathology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reaction Time; Reaction Time - physiology; Reaction time task; Space Perception; Space Perception - physiology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; vision; Visual attention; Visual Perception; Visual Perception - physiology; ADHD; ERP; Exogenous orienting; CNV; Visual attention; Human; Hyperactivity; Spatial attention; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Cognition; Space perception; Encephalon; Attentional disorder; Vision; Attention disorder with hyperactivity; Child; Event evoked potential
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.11.036

Visual spatial orienting of attention towards exogenous cues has been one of the attentional functions considered to be spared in ADHD. Here we present a design in which 60 (30 ADHD) children, age: 10.9±1.4, were asked to covertly orient their attention to one or two (out of four) cued locations, and search for a target stimulus in one of these locations, while recording behavioral responses and EEG/ERP. In all conditions, ADHD children showed delayed reaction times and poorer behavioral performance. They also exhibited larger cue-elicited P2 but reduced CNV in the preparation stage. Larger amplitude of CNV predicted better performance in the task. Target-elicited N1 and selection negativity were also reduced in the ADHD group compared to non-ADHD. Groups also differed in the early and late P3 time-windows. The present results suggest that exogenous orienting of attention could be dysfunctional in ADHD under certain conditions. This limitation is not necessarily caused by an impairment of the orienting process itself, but instead by a difficulty in maintaining the relevant information acquired during the early preparation stage through the target processing stage, when it is really needed. ► Exogenous orienting of attention could be affected in ADHD children. ► ADHD subjects had a larger cue-elicited P2 and a reduced CNV than controls. ► ADHD performance and target-evoked N1, SN, and P3 differed from controls. ► Cue-evoked P2 and CNV could reflect preparation for target processing and response. ► General state regulation might account for ADHD poor performance in visual orienting.