Sound localization and auditory selective attention in school-aged children with ADHD

Tong Fu; Bingkun Li; Weizhen Yin; Shitao Huang; Hongyu Liu; Yan Song; Xiaoli Li; Herui Shang; Yanling Zhou; Daomeng Cheng; Liping Cao; Cai-Ping Dang

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.1051585

Sound localization and auditory selective attention in school-aged children with ADHD

Front Neurosci. 2022 Dec 15:16:1051585. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1051585. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Tong Fu^{1

2}, Bingkun Li³, Weizhen Yin^{1

2}, Shitao Huang^{1

2}, Hongyu Liu³, Yan Song^{3

4}, Xiaoli Li³, Herui Shang⁵, Yanling Zhou^{1

2}, Daomeng Cheng^{1

2}, Liping Cao^{1

2}, Cai-Ping Dang^{1

5

2}

Affiliations

¹ The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁴ Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁵ Department of Applied Psychology, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the neurophysiologic bases of auditory attention deficits in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), focusing on the electroencephalography component of auditory spatial selective attention [the N2 anterior contralateral component (N2ac)]. EEG data were collected from 7- to 11-year-old children with ADHD (n = 54) and age-, sex-, and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children (n = 61), while they performed an auditory spatial selective task. For behavior, the children with ADHD showed a shorter reaction time (RT) but a higher RT coefficient of variability (RT_CV) than TD children. For ERPs, the TD group showed a significant "adult-like" N2ac component; however, the N2ac component was absent in children with ADHD. More importantly, the smaller N2ac component could predict longer RT in both groups, as well as higher severity of inattentive symptoms in children with ADHD. Our results indicated that 7- to 11-year-old TD children have developed an "adult-like" ability to balance auditory target selection and distractor suppression; the absence of N2ac in children with ADHD provided novel evidence supporting their dysfunctional auditory spatial selective attention.

Keywords: ADHD; ERP; N2ac; auditory selective attention; children; lateralization.