Arm Movement Control: Differences between Children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine performance differences in arm movement control (programming vs. “on-line” control) between children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Twenty children (10 with ADHD and 10 without ADHD) from the ages of 8 to 13 years participated in the study. On the surface of a digitizer, each participant completed three types of aiming arm movements (10 trials for each) and 10 baseline trials (without accuracy requirement). Multivariate analyses of variance with repeated measures were used to analyze the variables of reaction time, movement time, normalized jerk, intersegment-interval (ISI), and movement timing. Children with ADHD appeared to use “on-line” monitoring during the arm movement and did not perform the entire movement sequence as a functional unit. They executed the arm movements more slowly, had greater variability in movement timing, and demonstrated longer ISIs than their counterparts. Children with ADHD had multiple peaks in the velocity profiles. Children without ADHD, however, appeared to program their entire arm movements and execute the sequence as a unit. Their velocity profiles were symmetrical with a single peak, and the movement segments were temporally coordinated. These findings suggested that cognitive functions are important resources for controlling rapid aiming arm movements. Children with ADHD might rely more on visual feedback during the movements, which resulted in slower and more variant movement outcomes than children who did not have ADHD.