The effects of first-dose methylphenidate on the neural signatures of visual selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Jialiang Guo; Xiangsheng Luo; Yuanjun Kong; Bingkun Li; Bailu Si; Ole Jensen; Li Sun; Yan Song

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108481

The effects of first-dose methylphenidate on the neural signatures of visual selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Biol Psychol. 2023 Feb:177:108481. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108481. Epub 2022 Dec 23.

Authors

Jialiang Guo¹, Xiangsheng Luo², Yuanjun Kong³, Bingkun Li³, Bailu Si⁴, Ole Jensen⁵, Li Sun⁶, Yan Song⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁴ School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁵ Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
⁶ Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China. Electronic address: sunlioh@bjmu.edu.cn.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: songyan@bnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36572273
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108481

Abstract

Although methylphenidate (MPH) has been shown to significantly improve selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the neural mechanism of this effect remains unclear. We investigated the effects of first-dose MPH on the neural signatures of visual selective attention in children with ADHD. We measured the impact of first-dose MPH on electrophysiological indexes from eighteen children with ADHD (8.9-15.2 years; 15 boys) while they performed a visual search task. MPH was administered in a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design. MPH led to decreases in behavioral error rates and reaction times. For the electrophysiological indexes, MPH significantly increased the target-elicited N2pc amplitude and posterior P3 amplitude during the selective attention process. The trial-based correlation analysis revealed that the enhanced N2pc (more negative) and P3 (more positive) promoted the behavioral response speed for children with ADHD. The lower individual P3 amplitude was associated with higher severity of inattention symptoms. The severer inattention symptoms were related to weaker MPH effect on N2pc amplitude. These findings suggest that N2pc and P3 are closely related to the mechanism of MPH in the ADHD treatment.

Keywords: ADHD; Children; Methylphenidate; N2pc; P3; Selective attention.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / drug therapy
Central Nervous System Stimulants* / pharmacology
Child
Cognition
Cross-Over Studies
Double-Blind Method
Humans
Male
Methylphenidate* / pharmacology
Treatment Outcome

Substances

Central Nervous System Stimulants
Methylphenidate

Grants and funding

207550/Z/17/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom