Abstract
BackgroundCurrent research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. However, most studies have focused thus far on the enhancing effects of tangible rewards such as money, neglecting that social-emotional stimuli may also impact task performance in ADHD patients.MethodsTo determine whether non-social (monetary) and social (positive facial expressions) rewards differentially improve response inhibition accuracy in children and adolescents with ADHD, we applied an incentive go/no-go task with reward contingencies for successful inhibition and compared ADHD subjects with typically developing individuals.ResultsBoth social and monetary contingencies improved inhibition accuracy in all participants. However, individuals with ADHD displayed a particularly higher profit from social reward than healthy controls, suggesting that cognitive control in ADHD patients can be specifically improved by social reinforcement. By contrast, self-rated motivation associated with task performance was significantly lower in ADHD patients.ConclusionOur findings provide evidence for hyperresponsiveness to social rewards in ADHD patients, which is accompanied by limited self-awareness. These data suggest that social reward procedures may be particularly useful in behavioral interventions in children with ADHD.
Highlights
Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies
Konrad and colleagues [8] had found that inhibitory control in children with ADHD during a Stop Signal Task could be ameliorated through non-social incentives, improving task performance to the same level as normal controls
We employed an incentive go/no-go task to explore the extent to which social and non-social rewards differentially impact response inhibition in children and adolescents with ADHD compared to healthy controls
Summary
Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. Recent models suggest that the core symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), namely inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, could result from dysfunction of two neurodevelopmental pathways: the executive and motivational pathways [1]. While the deficient executive pathway is assumed to involve an insufficient regulation of thought and action primarily characterized by a core deficit in inhibitory control, the dysfunctional motivational pathway is hypothesized to link behavioral symptoms, task engagement, and a biologically embedded alteration in reinforcement mechanisms. The majority of studies have mainly focused on the effects of tangible rewards such as money, tokens or food incentives, and how tangible reinforcement is able to improve cognitive control performance in subjects with ADHD [6]. Konrad and colleagues [8] had found that inhibitory control in children with ADHD during a Stop Signal Task could be ameliorated through non-social incentives (i.e., tokens), improving task performance to the same level as normal controls
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