Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
In recent years, the interest in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its relation to deficits in working memory (WM) and more specifically the different executive functions (EFs) has grown, to the point of confirming that these are quite frequent in this disorder. The aim of this...
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doaj-0e519ba64c5a419f9be6591c0f89de982020-11-25T00:21:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782017-06-01810.3389/fpsyg.2017.00976265312Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)M. Rosa Elosúa0Sandra Del Olmo1Sandra Del Olmo2María José Contreras3Psicología Básica I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a DistanciaMadrid, SpainPsicología Básica I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a DistanciaMadrid, SpainHospital Clínico Universitario Lozano BlesaZaragoza, SpainPsicología Básica I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a DistanciaMadrid, SpainIn recent years, the interest in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its relation to deficits in working memory (WM) and more specifically the different executive functions (EFs) has grown, to the point of confirming that these are quite frequent in this disorder. The aim of this study was precisely to explore differences in executive functioning of WM in fourth grade Primary school children with and without ADHD (26 and 29 children, respectively), introducing rigorous control measures in the tests used. Four EFs were analyzed: divided attention, updating, attentional shifting and inhibition, measured through four tasks, the dual-task paradigm (digits and box-crossing), the N-Back task, the Trail Making Test and the Stroop task, respectively. The results showed that participants with ADHD, compared to children with typical development (TD), exhibited a smaller verbal memory span as well as deficits in the attentional shifting and updating functions. However, a similar performance for the EF of inhibition was found for both groups of participants. Finally, an unexpected result was obtained with regard to the role of divided attention, as children with ADHD were less impaired when performing the double task than participants in the TD group.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00976/fullexecutive functionsAttention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorderinhibitiondivided attentionupdatingattentional shifting |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
M. Rosa Elosúa Sandra Del Olmo Sandra Del Olmo María José Contreras |
spellingShingle |
M. Rosa Elosúa Sandra Del Olmo Sandra Del Olmo María José Contreras Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Frontiers in Psychology executive functions Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder inhibition divided attention updating attentional shifting |
author_facet |
M. Rosa Elosúa Sandra Del Olmo Sandra Del Olmo María José Contreras |
author_sort |
M. Rosa Elosúa |
title |
Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
title_short |
Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
title_full |
Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
title_fullStr |
Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Differences in Executive Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
title_sort |
differences in executive functioning in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (adhd) |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2017-06-01 |
description |
In recent years, the interest in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its relation to deficits in working memory (WM) and more specifically the different executive functions (EFs) has grown, to the point of confirming that these are quite frequent in this disorder. The aim of this study was precisely to explore differences in executive functioning of WM in fourth grade Primary school children with and without ADHD (26 and 29 children, respectively), introducing rigorous control measures in the tests used. Four EFs were analyzed: divided attention, updating, attentional shifting and inhibition, measured through four tasks, the dual-task paradigm (digits and box-crossing), the N-Back task, the Trail Making Test and the Stroop task, respectively. The results showed that participants with ADHD, compared to children with typical development (TD), exhibited a smaller verbal memory span as well as deficits in the attentional shifting and updating functions. However, a similar performance for the EF of inhibition was found for both groups of participants. Finally, an unexpected result was obtained with regard to the role of divided attention, as children with ADHD were less impaired when performing the double task than participants in the TD group. |
topic |
executive functions Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder inhibition divided attention updating attentional shifting |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00976/full |
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