Beyond interference control impairment in ADHD: Evidence from increased intraindividual variability in the color-stroop test

Abstract

The present study investigates intraindividual variability (IIV) in the Color-Stroop test and in a simple reaction time (SRT) task. Performance level and variability in reaction times (RTs)—quantified with different measures such as individual standard deviation (ISD) and coefficient of variation (ICV), as well as ex-Gaussian parameters (mu, sigma, tau)—were analyzed in 24 children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 24 typically developing children (TDC). Children with ADHD and TDC presented equivalent Color-Stroop interference effects when mean RTs were considered, and the two groups did not differ in the SRT task. Interestingly, compared to TDC, children with ADHD were more variable in their responses, showing increased ISD and ICV in the Color-Stroop interference condition and in the SRT task. Moreover, children with ADHD exhibited higher tau values—that is, more frequent abnormally long RTs—in the Color-Stroop interference condition than did the TDC, but comparable tau values in the SRT, suggesting more variable responses. These results speak in favor of a general deficit in more basic and central processes that only secondarily may affect the efficiency of inhibitory processes in children with ADHD. Overall the present findings confirm the role of IIV as a cornerstone in the ADHD cognitive profile and support the search for fine-grained analysis of performance fluctuations.