Adult ADHD
Visual Abstract
Long-Term Memory Performance in Adult ADHD
Timo Skodzik , Heinz Holling , Anya Pedersen
Summarized by:
June 19, 2023
study source
J Atten Disord
Feb 2016
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What they studied
Researchers conducted a meta-analysis to examine long-term memory in ADHD.
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What they found
Those with ADHD have significantly worse verbal long-term memory but not visual long-term memory. Those with more difficulty encoding memories with ADHD had worse long-term visual memory.
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What this means
These results suggest a long-term memory is a crucial deficit in ADHD. It may be driven more by encoding than retrieval.
Long-Term Memory Performance in Adult ADHD
Objectives
Previous studies have shown that those with ADHD have difficulty with memory, including long-term memory.
The study wanted to understand better the nature of long-term memory difficulties in ADHD and what might be causing it.
Study Quote
Objective: Memory problems are a frequently reported symptom in adult ADHD, and it is well-documented that adults with ADHD perform poorly on long-term memory tests. However, the cause of this effect is still controversial. The present meta-analysis examined underlying mechanisms that ma...
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Methods
Researchers performed a meta-analysis of 19 studies that examined long-term memory in ADHD.
This type of analysis allows researchers to combine data and answer questions more precisely than with individual studies.
What is a meta-analysis?
Study Quote
Method: We performed separate meta-analyses of measures of memory acquisition and long-term memory using both verbal and visual memory tests. In addition, the influence of potential moderator variables was examined.
Results
The results showed that adults with ADHD tended to do worse with verbal long-term memory but not necessarily with visual long-term memory—those with ADHD and more difficulty recognizing and recalling verbal memories.
However, this effect was not seen in visual memory. There is no significant difference between those with ADHD and those without ADHD on tests of long-term visual memory.
There was, however, a link between long-term visual memory performance and memory acquisition performance.
This suggests that those with ADHD, who struggle with long-term memory, may struggle because of difficulties with storing memories rather than retrieving memories.
Study Quote
Results: Adults with ADHD performed significantly worse than controls on verbal but not on visual long-term memory and memory acquisition subtests. The long-term memory deficit was strongly statistically related to the memory acquisition deficit. In contrast, no retrieval problems were o...
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Conclusions
These results confirm the link between ADHD and long-term memory difficulties. There is some evidence that this may be driven by difficulties with storing memories for those with ADHD, rather than retrieving memories.
Essentially, those with ADHD may have more trouble creating memories but can remember the things that they’ve committed to memory when needed.
Study Quote
Conclusion: Our results suggest that memory deficits in adult ADHD reflect a learning deficit induced at the stage of encoding. Implications for clinical and research settings are presented.