Inhibitory processes in adults with persistent childhood onset ADHD.

Abstract

The theory that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stems from a deficit in an executive behavioral inhibition process has been little studied in adults, where the validity of ADHD is in debate. This study examined, in high-functioning young adults with persistent ADHD and a control group, 2 leading measures of inhibitory control: the antisaccade task and the negative priming task. ADHD adults showed weakened ability to effortfully stop a reflexive or anticipated oculomotor response but had normal ability to automatically suppress irrelevant information. Results suggest that an inhibitory deficit in ADHD is confined to effortful inhibition of motor response, that antisaccade and negative priming tasks index distinct inhibition systems, and that persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood is associated with persistence of executive motor inhibition deficits. Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious and chronic behavioral syndrome characterized by impaired attention, impulsivity, and excessive activity. A significant percentage of ADHD children show persistent symptoms into adulthood (Mannuzza, Klein, Bessler, Malloy, & LaPadula, 1998). Increasingly, clinicians must assess adults for ADHD (Barkley, 1998; Weiss, Hechtman, & Weiss, 1999) without clear consensus on validity of the syndrome, the appropriate diagnostic criteria, or the active psychological dysfunction (Faraone, 2000). Further data on basic mechanisms are needed to advance assessment and intervention in adult ADHD. ADHD in adults is viewed as a neurodevelopmental disorder