Abstract
We recently hypothesised that increased spontaneous mind wandering (MW-S) reflects a core process underlying attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous studies show that individuals with ADHD and neurotypical individuals with increased MW-S display similar cognitive-performance and electrophysiological (EEG) impairments in attentional processes. However, the cognitive-EEG markers associated with increased MW-S in ADHD remain poorly understood. We therefore investigated such markers in a sample of 69 sex- and age-matched adults with ADHD and 29 controls during the Sustained Attention to Response Task. We compared task performance and EEG measures (P3, time-frequency brain-oscillations) of attentional processes between groups, and examined their association with a validated self-report questionnaire of MW-S. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that MW-S and ADHD diagnosis relate to the same cognitive-EEG impairments using a hierarchical regression model. Compared to controls, adults with ADHD showed attenuations in P3, event-related alpha and beta suppression during response inhibition (No-Go trials), and theta power activations during response execution (Go trials), as well as increased reaction time variability and more commission/omission errors. MW-S was also continuously associated with most cognitive-EEG measures related to ADHD. The hierarchical regressions on measures associated with both ADHD diagnosis and MW-S showed that MW-S did not explain additional variance in the cognitive-EEG markers (except for beta suppression) beyond ADHD diagnosis, and vice versa. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis that ADHD diagnosis and MW-S share common neural deficits, and that MW-S may reflect a core symptom of the disorder.
Highlights
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 5–6% of children [1] and 3–4% of adults worldwide [2]
We previously found that the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale (MEWS) was highly correlated with the spontaneous mind wandering scale [43] used by Seli and colleagues, who first identified the association between ADHD and MW-S [44]
Cognitive measures Compared to controls, individuals with ADHD made significantly more errors and showed significantly greater reaction time variability (RTV) (Table 2)
Summary
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 5–6% of children [1] and 3–4% of adults worldwide [2]. Based on a narrative review of the literature on MW-S and ADHD, we proposed that spontaneous, uncontrolled and task-irrelevant thoughts, as opposed to controlled, goaloriented, deliberate mind wandering (MW-D), might provide a potential mechanism underlying cognitive, behavioural and functional impairments in individuals with ADHD [5]. This MW perspective hypothesises that MW-S in individuals with ADHD will have the same neural correlates as ADHD itself [5]. This hypothesis remains to be formally tested in ADHD samples
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