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. 2014 Jun 16;9(6):e99570.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099570. eCollection 2014.

Feedback-related negativity in children with two subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Jingbo Gong  1 , Jiajin Yuan  2 , Suhong Wang  3 , Lijuan Shi  4 , Xilong Cui  4 , Xuerong Luo  4
Affiliations

Feedback-related negativity in children with two subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Jingbo Gong et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: The current model of ADHD suggests abnormal reward and punishment sensitivity, although differences in ADHD subgroups are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of feedback valence (reward or punishment) and punishment magnitude (small or large) on Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and Late Positive Potential (LPP) in two subtypes of ADHD (ADHD-C and ADHD-I) compared to typically developing children (TD) during a children's gambling task.

Methods: Children with ADHD-C (n = 16), children with ADHD-I (n = 15) and typically developing children (n = 15) performed a children's gambling task under three feedback conditions: large losses, small losses and gains. FRN and LPP components in brain potentials were recorded and analyzed.

Results: In TD children and children with ADHD-C, large loss feedback evoked more negative FRN amplitudes than small loss feedback, suggesting that brain sensitivity to the punishment and its magnitude is not impaired in children with ADHD-C. In contrast to these two groups, the FRN effect was absent in children with ADHD-I. The LPP amplitudes were larger in children with ADHD-C in comparison with those with ADHD-I, regardless of feedback valence and magnitude.

Conclusion: Children with ADHD-C exhibit intact brain sensitivity to punishment similar to TD children. In contrast, children with ADHD-I are significantly impaired in neural sensitivity to the feedback stimuli and in particular, to punishment, compared to TD and ADHD-C children. Thus, FRN, rather than LPP, is a reliable index of the difference in reward and punishment sensitivity across different ADHD-subcategories.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Grand-average of ERPs at Fz, Cz and Pz for the large loss (black lines), small loss (red lines) and gain (blue lines) feedback conditions in the TD, ADHD-C and ADHD-I groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The topographical map of FRN in the TD,ADHD-C and ADHD-I groups in the phase of 250–350 ms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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