Few differences in hot and cold executive functions in children and adolescents with combined and inattentive subtypes of ADHD

Erik Winther Skogli,Kjell Tore Hovik,Merete Øie,Jens Egeland,Per Normann Andersen

doi:10.1080/09297049.2012.753998

Erik Winther Skogli, Kjell Tore Hovik

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2012.753998

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to compare executive processes with pronounced (hot) and less pronounced (cold) emotional salience in medication naïve children and adolescents with ADHD-combined (ADHD-C) and ADHD-inattentive (ADHD-I) subtypes. Thirty-six subjects with ADHD-C, 44 with ADHD-I, and 50 healthy controls between 8 and 17 years were assessed with laboratory tests and inventory-based scales assessing hot and cold executive functions (EF) (controlled attention, working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, hot decision making) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The ADHD-C group displayed significantly more impairment compared to the ADHD-I group on the cold BRIEF Inhibition and Monitor scales. There were no significant differences between ADHD subtypes on cold and hot laboratory tests. The hot decision-making task did not correlate with the other cold or hot EF measures. Overall, few EF measures were shown to differentiate between ADHD subtypes nor were there any relationships between the hot decision-making task and the other EF measures, which seems to indicate separate developmental trajectories.

Highlights

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood neuropsychiatric disorders
Our findings indicate that hot and cold executive functions (EF) show divergent developmental trajectories, which are relatively independent from co-existing problems and ADHD symptomatology in children and adolescents with ADHD
As part of the research project "Cognitive and emotional development in children and adolescents with neuropsychiatric disorders" at Innlandet Hospital Trust (IHT), the current study aimed to investigate whether EF and emotional regulatory functions differ across diagnostic subgroups and gender in children and adolescents with ADHD

Summary

Introduction

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood neuropsychiatric disorders. Worldwide prevalence estimates for childhood ADHD range between 3% and 7% (American Psychiatric Association., 2000) with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1 in population based studies (Barkley, 2006; Gaub & Carlson, 1997b). One aim of the present study was to assess in a clinical sample of medication naïve boys and girls with ADHD, whether there were significant gender x diagnosis interactions in co-existing symptom severity and executive function (EF) impairment. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood neuropsychiatric disorders, characterized by problems with inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity [1]. Worldwide prevalence estimates for childhood ADHD range between 3% and 7% [1] with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1 in population based studies [2,3] and between 5:1 to 9:1 in clinical samples [1,3,4]. Sciutto, Nolfi, & Bluhm [12] found that teachers more often refer boys than girls for treatment for ADHD, even when showing equal levels of impairment

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