Do neurocognitive measures differentiate Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) with and without hyperactivity?

• Published in: Archives of clinical neuropsychology 1990, Vol.5 (2), p.119-135
• Main Authors: Lorys, Alison R., Hynd, George W., Lahey, Benjamin B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Medical sciences; Nosology. Terminology. Diagnostic criteria; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Techniques and methods
• ISSN: 0887-6177; 1873-5843
• DOI: 10.1016/0887-6177(90)90033-L

Recent behavioral and neuropharmacological evidence suggests that the differentiation of children with Attention Deficit Disorder with (ADD/H) and without hyperactivity (ADD/WO) may reflect an appropriate nosological distinction. There is also evidence that attention-regulatory mechanisms possibly associated with anterior-posterior processes may be independently implicated in these children. To test this hypothesis, 100 clinic-referred children were reliably diagnosed as ADD/H ( n = 48). ADD/WO ( n = 26) and as having an internalizing disorder ( n = 26) for inclusion as a clinic-control (CC) group. An analysis of covariance using Full-Scale IQ, chronological age, and the number of conduct-disorder symptoms provided little support for such a behavioral distinction using selected WISC-R, Luria-Nebraska-Children's Revision, and reaction-time variables. Alternative conceptualizations, possibly reflecting deficient right-hemispheric processes in ADD/H, may provide more productive avenues for research in distinguishing deficient neurocognitive processes in subtypes of ADD.