Executive Function and Attention Performance in Children with ADHD: Effects of Medication and Comparison with Typically Developing Children

Martina Miklós; Judit Futó; Dániel Komáromy; Judit Balázs

doi:10.3390/ijerph16203822

Executive Function and Attention Performance in Children with ADHD: Effects of Medication and Comparison with Typically Developing Children

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Oct 10;16(20):3822. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16203822.

Authors

Martina Miklós^{1

2}, Judit Futó³, Dániel Komáromy^{4

5}, Judit Balázs^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella St. 46, 1064 Budapest, Hungary. miklosmartina87@gmail.com.
² Department of Developmental and Clinical Child Psychology, Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella St. 46, 1064 Budapest, Hungary. miklosmartina87@gmail.com.
³ Department of Developmental and Clinical Child Psychology, Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella St. 46, 1064 Budapest, Hungary. futo.judit@ppk.elte.hu.
⁴ Department of Developmental and Clinical Child Psychology, Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella St. 46, 1064 Budapest, Hungary. d.komaromy@student.vu.nl.
⁵ Department of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. d.komaromy@student.vu.nl.
⁶ Department of Developmental and Clinical Child Psychology, Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella St. 46, 1064 Budapest, Hungary. balazs.judit@ppk.elte.hu.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Bjørknes University College, Lovisenberggata 13, 0456 Oslo, Norway. balazs.judit@ppk.elte.hu.

Abstract

The emerging literature reports that children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) show deficits in executive functioning. To date, the combination of drug therapy with certain evidence-based non-medication interventions has been proven to be the most effective treatment for ADHD. There is a gap in the literature regarding comparing the executive functions (EF) of treatment naïve and medicated children with ADHD with both each other and typically developing children. Altogether, 50 treatment naïve and 50 medicated children with ADHD and 50 typically developing children between the ages of six and 12 were enrolled. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (Mini Kid) and the Test of Attentional Performance for Children (KiTAP) measures were employed. Treatment naïve children with ADHD showed weaker performance on most executive function measures (12 out of 15) than either the medicated ADHD group or the controls. There were no significant differences between the medicated ADHD children and typically developing children in most KiTAP parameters (10 out of 15). Executive function impairments were observable in treatment naïve ADHD children, which draws attention to the importance of treating ADHD. Future studies should focus on the specific effects of stimulant medication on executive functions.

Keywords: ADHD; EF; KiTAP; attention; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; children; executive functions; medication; typical development.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / drug therapy*
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology*
Attention*
Central Nervous System Stimulants / therapeutic use*
Child
Child Development
Executive Function*
Female
Humans
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Treatment Outcome

Substances

Central Nervous System Stimulants