Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2007 Dec;37(12):1703-15.
doi: 10.1017/S0033291707000815. Epub 2007 May 31.

Reaction time performance in ADHD: improvement under fast-incentive condition and familial effects

Penny Andreou  1 , Ben M Neale, Wai Chen, Hanna Christiansen, Isabel Gabriels, Alexander Heise, Sheera Meidad, Ueli C Muller, Henrik Uebel, Tobias Banaschewski, Iris Manor, Robert Oades, Herbert Roeyers, Aribert Rothenberger, Pak Sham, Hans-Christoph Steinhausen, Philip Asherson, Jonna Kuntsi
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Reaction time performance in ADHD: improvement under fast-incentive condition and familial effects

Penny Andreou et al. Psychol Med. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Reaction time (RT) variability is one of the strongest findings to emerge in cognitive-experimental research of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We set out to confirm the association between ADHD and slow and variable RTs and investigate the degree to which RT performance improves under fast event rate and incentives. Using a group familial correlation approach, we tested the hypothesis that there are shared familial effects on RT performance and ADHD.

Method: A total of 144 ADHD combined-type probands, 125 siblings of the ADHD probands and 60 control participants, ages 6-18, performed a four-choice RT task with baseline and fast-incentive conditions.

Results: ADHD was associated with slow and variable RTs, and with greater improvement in speed and RT variability from baseline to fast-incentive condition. RT performance showed shared familial influences with ADHD. Under the assumption that the familial effects represent genetic influences, the proportion of the phenotypic correlation due to shared familial influences was estimated as 60-70%.

Conclusions: The data are inconsistent with models that consider RT variability as reflecting a stable cognitive deficit in ADHD, but instead emphasize the extent to which energetic or motivational factors can have a greater effect on RT performance in ADHD. The findings support the role of RT variability as an endophenotype mediating the link between genes and ADHD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. A1
Fig. A1
Path diagrams for the relationship between two phenotypes that correlate. r is the phenotypic correlation between the two latent variables.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mean reaction time (MRT) in baseline and fast-incentive conditions (with 95% confidence intervals): ADHD probands (–●–), siblings of probands (–○–) and control group (–▼–).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Reaction time (RT) variability in baseline and fast-incentive conditions (with 95% confidence intervals): ADHD probands (–●–), siblings of probands (–○–) and control group (–▼–).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Coefficient of variation (CV) in baseline and fast-incentive conditions (with 95% confidence intervals): ADHD probands (–●–), siblings of probands (–○–) and control group (–▼–).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. APA . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th edn. American Psychiatric Association; Washington, DC: 1994. (DSM-IV)
    1. Banaschewski T, Brandeis D, Heinrich H, Albrecht B, Brunner E, Rothenberger A. Association of ADHD and conduct disorder – brain electrical evidence for the existence of a distinct subtype. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 2003;44:356–376. - PubMed
    1. Bellgrove MA, Hawi Z, Kirley A, Fitzgerald M, Gill M, Robertson IH. Association between dopamine transporter (DAT1) genotype, left-sided inattention, and an enhanced response to methylphenidate in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005a;30:2290–2297. - PubMed
    1. Bellgrove MA, Hawi Z, Kirley A, Gill M, Robertson IH. Dissecting the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) phenotype: sustained attention, response variability and spatial attentional asymmetries in relation to dopamine transporter (DAT1) genotype. Neuropsychologia. 2005b;43:1847–1857. - PubMed
    1. Berwid OG, Curko Kera EA, Marks DJ, Santra A, Bender HA, Halperin JM. Sustained attention and response inhibition in young children at risk for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 2005;46:1219–1229. - PubMed

Publication types