The N270 in Facial S1-S2 Paradigm as a Biomarker for Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Fujun Zhao,Chao Yang,Yi Zheng

doi:10.1109/access.2020.2993058

Abstract

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might suffer from dysfunctions that affect their social interaction, however, this issue has been less investigated and the results were inconclusive, especially for face processing. Applying event-related potential technology, the current study used modified facial S1-S2 paradigm to investigate face recognition in children with ADHD and health control group. Twenty-nine ADHD children and twenty-nine health children were recruited. The results showed that central N270 was delayed under inconsistent condition than consistent condition for ADHD group and no significant difference was revealed between ADHD group and control group on amplitude and latency of N170, N270. N270 might be a sensitive neurophysiological marker for ADHD children.

Highlights

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the top-ranking neurodevelopmental disorders with onset in childhood
We found that children usually have larger event-related potentials with a longer latency compared with adults [51], [52]
N270 was delayed under inconsistent condition than consistent condition for ADHD group and no significant difference was revealed between ADHD group and control group on N170, which partially supported our hypothesis

Summary

Introduction

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the top-ranking neurodevelopmental disorders with onset in childhood. The global prevalence of ADHD was estimated to be 5.29% in 2007 [1] and has rapidly increased to 7.2% in recent years [2]. China is no exception, according to two recent meta-analysis, the prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China is about 6.3% [3], [4]. The core symptoms of ADHD are age-inappropriate inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. While cognitive deficits in ADHD, such as sustained attention, inhibition control, and executive planning have been discussed extensively [5], [6], the social cognition in ADHD group was relatively less investigated and the findings were far from reaching consensus [7]–[9].

Methods

Results

Conclusion