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Inhibition in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Psychophysiological Study of the Stop Task

Biological Psychiatry. 2002 Apr 15;51(8):668-76
Carin C.E. Overtoom, J. Leon Kenemans, Marinus N. Verbaten, Chantal Kemner, Maurits W. van der Molen, Herman van Engeland, Jan K. Buitelaar, and Harry S. Koelega

Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate and identify abnormal brain activity, as revealed by event-related potentials (ERPs) concurring with deficient inhibitory control in children with attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: Performance and ERPs from 16 children with ADHD and 16 control subjects were compared in the stop-signal paradigm.

Results: The ADHD children showed a lower inhibition percentage and their (estimated) response time to the stop signal was disproportionally longer compared to the slowing of reaction times to primary-task stimuli. In normal control subjects, fronto-central positivity (100– 400 msec) after the onset of the stop-signal was larger in case of successful inhibition, relative to failed inhibition; this was less so in ADHD children. A late positive wave (500 –700 msec), maximal at Oz on failed inhibition trials, and possibly related to error-detection, was smaller in ADHD children.

Conclusions: These results point to abnormalities in brain processes involved in motor inhibition and error-detection in ADHD children.

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