Abstract
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated primarily with executive function deficits. Emerging findings suggest, however, that procedural learning may be compromised as well. To this effect, we recently showed that feedback-based procedural learning is selectively impaired in ADHD, results that coincide with dopaminergic alterations associated with ADHD. Key questions, however, remain unresolved, among which are the learning conditions that may improve procedural learning in ADHD. Here we examined feedback-based probabilistic learning during conditions that engage procedural and declarative learning systems to different degrees, depending on feedback timing. ADHD and control participants carried out a probabilistic learning task in which they were required to learn to associate between cues and outcomes, where outcomes were presented either immediately or with a short/long delays. Whereas performance in probabilistic learning in ADHD participants was comparable to controls in delayed feedback conditions, during both learning and test phases, their performance diminished when feedback was immediate. Furthermore, ADHD symptom severity was negatively correlated with the ability to learn from immediate feedback. These results suggest that feedback-based probabilistic learning can be improved in ADHD, provided appropriate conditions. By shifting the load from midbrain/striatal systems to declarative memory mechanisms, behavioral performance in ADHD populations can be remediated.
Highlights
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, with an estimated prevalence ranging between 3–5% of the general population
Recent observations suggest that probabilistic learning of stimulus-response associations among populations with dopaminergic and striatal dysfunctions could be remediated by manipulating specific aspects of the training procedure[51,52]
This hypothesis was put here to test by examining whether probabilistic learning impairments in ADHD individuals would depend on the duration of feedback delay during the training experience
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, with an estimated prevalence ranging between 3–5% of the general population. Ongoing research suggests that procedural learning mechanisms in those with ADHD are impaired[14], and when involving learning from feedback[15,16] Consistent with the latter observations, the procedural learning deficit hypothesis (PLD) postulates that a selective dysfunction in the procedural learning system is associated with a family of neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD17–20. Hippocampal-based declarative learning is assumed to remain intact[17,18,19], and in some cases enhanced, possibly serving a compensatory role[20] Consistent with this hypothesis, anatomical and functional alterations of basal ganglia structures and the hippocampus were documented in ADHD populations[14]. Studies have shown that ‘go learning’ (i.e., the ability to learn from positive feedback) is disrupted in ADHD36
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