Impairments in working memory create difficulties for individuals with ADHD in their academic, social, and occupational activities. The overall hypothesis of this application is that individuals with ADHD engage an altered neural system when performing working memory tasks. This altered system arises as a consequence of an impaired executive system, which is subserved by the anterior cingulate (ACC) and prefrontal cortical regions (PFC). Impaired executive functioning weakens the ability to recruit subsidiary brain regions and strategies that support working memory. Functional imaging techniques give us a window into the neural basis of those strategies. Our imaging data suggest that phonological rehearsal strategies and the brain regions subserving them are impaired in ADHD. Visual-spatial strategies and their associated neural networks, are however, intact. Limited access to both phonological and visual strategies may increase errors and processing speed. We propose the following aims to investigate working memory in children with ADHD: 1) Define the neural correlates of working memory deficits in ADHD children using subtraction techniques in conjunction with a visual serial addition task; 2) Identify the relationship between BOLD signal changes generated during a working memory task and behavior (response time, error type; classroom ratings); and 3) Compare ADHD children with the Combined subtype to Inattentive subtype to identify the working memory neural strategies associated with each. We hypothesize that a general pattern will emerge in which ADHD combined type subjects use a predominantly visual-spatial strategy to perform a working memory serial addition task. The degree of ADHD dysfunction in the natural setting is expected to positively relate to visualspatial activation and negatively to prefrontal cortical activation. We predict that the ADHD-inattentive type will not exhibit the same level of visual-spatial activation during task performance as the Combined-type. Instead they will exhibit reduced activation in the same regions activated by the normal control children. A better understanding of strategies used in ADHD has potential educational implications for how children with ADHD learn and targets for treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH066310-03
Application #
7011165
Study Section
Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section (CPDD)
Program Officer
Rumsey, Judith M
Project Start
2004-04-01
Project End
2007-01-04
Budget Start
2006-02-01
Budget End
2007-01-04
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$182,879
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Maryland Baltimore
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
188435911
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21201
Fassbender, Catherine; Krafft, Cynthia E; Schweitzer, Julie B (2015) Differentiating SCT and inattentive symptoms in ADHD using fMRI measures of cognitive control. Neuroimage Clin 8:390-7
Mazaheri, Ali; Fassbender, Catherine; Coffey-Corina, Sharon et al. (2014) Differential oscillatory electroencephalogram between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder subtypes and typically developing adolescents. Biol Psychiatry 76:422-9
Fassbender, Catherine; Houde, Sebastien; Silver-Balbus, Shayla et al. (2014) The decimal effect: behavioral and neural bases for a novel influence on intertemporal choice in healthy individuals and in ADHD. J Cogn Neurosci 26:2455-68
Miller, Meghan; Hanford, Russell B; Fassbender, Catherine et al. (2011) Affect recognition in adults with ADHD. J Atten Disord 15:452-60
Fassbender, Catherine; Schweitzer, Julie B; Cortes, Carlos R et al. (2011) Working memory in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is characterized by a lack of specialization of brain function. PLoS One 6:e27240
Gruber, Michaela; Mathew, Lijoy K; Runge, Anja C et al. (2010) EPAS1 Is Required for Spermatogenesis in the Postnatal Mouse Testis. Biol Reprod 82:1227-36
Buzy, Wendy M; Medoff, Deborah R; Schweitzer, Julie B (2009) Intra-individual variability among children with ADHD on a working memory task: an ex-Gaussian approach. Child Neuropsychol 15:441-59
Fassbender, Catherine; Zhang, Hao; Buzy, Wendy M et al. (2009) A lack of default network suppression is linked to increased distractibility in ADHD. Brain Res 1273:114-28
Schweitzer, Julie B (2006) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from a neurosciences and behavioral approach: an introduction. Clin Psychol Rev 26:377-8
Fassbender, Catherine; Schweitzer, Julie B (2006) Is there evidence for neural compensation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? A review of the functional neuroimaging literature. Clin Psychol Rev 26:445-65

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