EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN ADULTS WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT / HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (AD/HD)

Abstract

Objective: A specific disorder at the stage of cognition and/or information processing might be involved in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). We measured negative difference (Nd) and mismatch negativity (MMN), the early negative components which reflect the attention function, in addition to P300. In earlier studies we examined these ERPs in children with AD/HD. In the present study, we examine the attentive and cognitive disturbances associated with adult AD/HD, measuring the auditory Nde, MMN, and P300. Method: 15 adults with DSM-IV-diagnosed AD/HD and 15 healthy control subjects were studied. Result: P300 and early Nd (Nde) amplitudes were smaller in the adult AD/HD group as compared with the healthy control group. Conclusions: When performing selective attention tasks, the same specific disturbances in the active stimulus selection process and the selective attention maintenance process occur in adults with AD/HD as in children with AD/HD.