Adult ADHD
Visual Abstract
Inefficient cognitive control in adult ADHD: evidence from trial-by-trial Stroop test and cued task switching performance
ADHD, Attention, and Task Switching
Joseph A King , Michael Colla, Marcel Brass, Isabella Heuser, Dy von Cramon
Summarized by:
May 20, 2023
study source
Behav Brain Funct
Aug 2007
🔎
What they studied
The study examined whether ADHD affects our thought processes under different conditions.
💡
What they found
Those with ADHD struggled to switch tasks and filter out information during cognitive tests.
👩⚕️
What this means
This and other similar studies demonstrate that ADHD can dramatically affect the way we think and process information.
Inefficient cognitive control in adult ADHD: evidence from trial-by-trial Stroop test and cued task switching performance
Objectives
This study examined how ADHD affects our ability to control our thought processes as adults.
ADHD is a complex disorder that affects our brains in ways we’re still working to understand.
It affects our attention, executive function, motivation, and reward processes, among others.
This study examined the effects of ADHD on our ability to filter out distracting information and switch tasks as needed.
Study Quote
Contemporary neuropsychological models of ADHD implicate impaired cognitive control as contributing to disorder characteristic behavioral deficiencies and excesses; albeit to varying degrees. While the traditional view of ADHD postulates a core deficiency in cognitive control processes, ...
Show More
Methods
The study tested 22 adults with ADHD and 22 closely matched adults without ADHD on a series of cognitive tests.
The study used a Stroop color-word test to test focus and the ability to filter out distracting information.
Participants were also given a series of cognitive tests that tested their ability to switch tasks quickly under different conditions.
Study Quote
22 adults diagnosed with persistent ADHD (17 males) and 22 matched healthy control subjects performed a manual trial-by-trial Stroop color-word test and a blocked explicitly cued task switching paradigm. Performance differences between neutral and incongruent trials of the Stroop task me...
Show More
Results
The results showed that those with ADHD had significant challenges in several key cognitive areas compared to those without ADHD.
They had more difficulty dealing with distraction when presented with distracting and conflicting information on the Stroop color-word test.
The data also showed that those with ADHD were more affected by time pressure. When they had less time to complete tasks, those with ADHD had greater deterioration in their performance.
Similarly, those with ADHD struggled more when asked to switch cognitive tasks than repeating the same task.
“
Experimental manipulation of the time allotted to prepare for an upcoming task revealed that the ADHD group interference effect observed on the task switching paradigm was dependent on inefficent task preparation.
Study Quote
Abnormal processing of task-irrelevant stimulus features was evident in ADHD group performance on both tasks. ADHD group interference effects on the task switching paradigm were found to be dependent on the time allotted to prepare for an upcoming task. Group differences in sustained tas...
Show More
Conclusions
These results revealed several key cognitive deficits among those with ADHD.
The data on task switching showed that those with ADHD may have less cognitive flexibility, making it harder for them to adapt to changing situations quickly.
“
Task switching group error rate profiles revealed distinct cognitive flexibility deficiencies in the ADHD group. Independent of these process-specific group differences, ADHD group performance was found to be generally slower on both tasks.
Those with ADHD also had significant struggles when faced with distracting and potentially conflicting information. The Stroop test used in this study tested participants’ abilities to filter out information, which those with ADHD struggled to do:
“
Perhaps the most striking findings of the current investigation were the ADHD group interference effects on both tasks. Abnormal processing of task-irrelevant stimulus attributes was evident in ADHD group Stroop test performance in RTs and accuracy rates
Overall, those with ADHD tended to be slower and less accurate on cognitive testing.
“
Aside from these process-specific group differences, ADHD group performance was also generally slower and less accurate.
This is consistent with other studies on cognitive and IQ tests for those with ADHD:
Study Quote
The current data obtained with experimental paradigms deliver novel evidence of inefficient interference control and task-set coordination in adults with persistent ADHD. However, all group differences observed in these central cognitive control processes were found to be partially depen...
Show More