Temporal judgments, hemispheric equivalence, and interhemispheric transfer in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Published in: Experimental brain research 2004, Vol.154 (1), p.76-84
• Main Authors: BROWN, Lenora N, VICKERS, Joan N
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Stimulants - pharmacology; Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Child clinical studies; Cognition Disorders - drug therapy; Cognition Disorders - physiopathology; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Corpus Callosum - physiopathology; Dextroamphetamine - pharmacology; Dextroamphetamine - therapeutic use; Functional Laterality - drug effects; Functional Laterality - physiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Methylphenidate - pharmacology; Methylphenidate - therapeutic use; Movement - physiology; Neural Inhibition - drug effects; Neural Inhibition - physiology; Neural Pathways - drug effects; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; Neuropsychological Tests; Photic Stimulation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychomotor Performance - drug effects; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reaction Time - drug effects; Reaction Time - physiology; Time Perception - drug effects; Time Perception - physiology; Visual Acuity - drug effects
• ISSN: 0014-4819; 1432-1106
• DOI: 10.1007/s00221-003-1641-z

This study investigated temporal processing abilities, hemispheric asymmetry, interhemispheric transfer, and stimulant medication effects in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Pairs of light emitting diodes in a visual half-field display (i.e., bilateral and unilateral presentations) were presented to examine medication effects, temporal judgments, hemispheric asymmetry, and interhemispheric transfer in male adolescents with ADHD and matched controls on age and gender. Participants responded (YES/NO) whether pairs of spatially separated diodes were illuminated simultaneously. Stimulant medication did not have an affect on temporal judgments, hemispheric equivalence, or interhemispheric transfer. No group differences in temporal judgments in any of the paired conditions were revealed. Both the ADHD and control groups demonstrated hemispheric equivalence for temporal judgments. Unexpectedly, the ADHD group demonstrated significantly faster interhemispheric transfer times when compared to the control group. The overall findings indicate that the reported deficit in time perception among individuals with ADHD may be restricted to tasks that involve response inhibition, reaction time, and/or motor movements (e.g., replicate durations of stimuli by pressing a lever).