Using e-diaries to investigate ADHD - State-of-the-art and the promising feature of just-in-time-adaptive interventions

Elena D Koch; Talar R Moukhtarian; Caroline Skirrow; Natali Bozhilova; Philip Asherson; Ulrich W Ebner-Priemer

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.002

Using e-diaries to investigate ADHD - State-of-the-art and the promising feature of just-in-time-adaptive interventions

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Aug:127:884-898. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.002. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Authors

Elena D Koch¹, Talar R Moukhtarian², Caroline Skirrow³, Natali Bozhilova⁴, Philip Asherson⁵, Ulrich W Ebner-Priemer⁶

Affiliations

¹ Mental mhealth Lab, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany. Electronic address: elena.koch@kit.edu.
² Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK; Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
³ Cambridge Cognition, Tunbridge Court, Bottisham, Cambridge, BB25 9TU, UK; School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK.
⁴ Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK; School of Psychology, Elizabeth Fry Building, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK.
⁵ Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
⁶ Mental mhealth Lab, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.

PMID: 34090919
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.002

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is characterized by symptoms which are dynamic in nature: states of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity as core symptoms, and emotion dysregulation as associated feature. Although tremendous work has been done to investigate between-subject differences (how patients with ADHD differ from healthy controls or patients with other disorders), little is known about the relationship between symptoms with triggers and contexts, that may allow us to better understand their causes and consequences. Understanding the temporal associations between symptoms and environmental triggers in an ecologically valid manner may be the basis to developing just-in-time adaptive interventions. Fortunately, recent years have seen advances in methodology, hardware and innovative statistical approaches to study dynamic processes in daily life. In this narrative review, we provide a description of the methodology (ambulatory assessment), summarize the existing literature in ADHD, and discuss future prospects for these methods, namely mobile sensing to assess contextual information, real-time analyses and just-in-time adaptive interventions.

Keywords: ADHD; Adolescents; Adults; Ambulatory assessment; Children; E-diary; Ecological momentary assessment; Just-in-time interventions.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity*
Cognition
Emotions
Humans
Impulsive Behavior