Effect of financial and non-financial reward and punishment for inhibitory control in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

BackgroundThe development of inhibitory processes is disturbed in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); however, little is known about the effect of negative punishment for inhibitory performance in this population. AimsWe investigated differences in the effects of reward and punishment, developmental changes, and response inhibition between children with and without ADHD, using financial (F-FB) and non-financial (NF-FB) feedback. Methods and materialsWe conducted financial and non-financial go/no-go tasks under reward and punishment conditions with 21 boys with ADHD and 21 healthy controls (HCs), in Japan. Outcomes and resultsWe found group-related significant interactions between group, feedback type, and punishment (p = .013), and group, feedback type, and age (p = .009). There were significant differences in inhibitory error under F-FB only in HCs between the punishment-absent and punishment-present conditions (p = .003). In the ADHD group, age-dependent effects were found for both feedback types (ps < .01), but only F-FB effects were found in HCs (p = .008). Conclusions and implicationsPunishment for inhibitory control had different effects on the ADHD and HC groups. Children with ADHD respond differently to external motivation than HCs, leading to difficulties with peers or confusion among teachers and caregivers.