ADHD

Question 1

Name the 3 core symptoms of ADHD

Answer 1

Inattention
Impulsivity
Hyperactivity

Question 2

What are the prevalence rates of ADHD in 1) children and 2) adults

Answer 2

1) children: 3-7 %

2) adults: 4-5 %

Question 3

Name three factors of the etiology of ADHD

Answer 3

1) significant heredity factor
2) global morphometric alterations of the brain
3) biochemical alterations of neurotransmitter functions (e.g. DA and NA)

Question 4

How do 
1) motor symptoms
2) impulsivity
3) inattention
develop from childhood to adolesence?

Answer 4

1) motor sympoms reduce with adolesence
2) impulsivity reduces but remains deviant
3) inattention becomes more prominent

Question 5

Name 2 main groups of adult ADHD diagnosis

Answer 5

1) diagnosed as children -> easy to recognize

2) never diagnosed before -> difficult to recognize

Question 6

Name the 4 diagnostic steps in ADHD diagnosis

Answer 6

1) assess current symptoms (past 6 months)
2) assess impact of symptoms on current functioning
3) establish childhood history of ADHD
4) obtain complete histories (self and family)

Question 7

Name the two possible pharmacological treatments options of ADHD and an example of each

Answer 7

1) Stimulants (MPH, amphetamine)

2) Non-stimulants (antidepressants, antihypertensive agents)

Question 8

What is the mechanism of action of stimulant drugs?

Answer 8

Release of norepinephrine ans dopamine

Question 9

What are examples of non-pharmacological treatment options in ADHD?

Answer 9

Counseling
Education
Psychotherapy
Skill training program
Cognitive training program
Coaching

Question 10

Name the 5 subforms of attention Van Zomeren and Brouwer (1994) distinghuish( Multi-dimensional model of attention)

Answer 10

1) alertness
2) vigilance/sustained attention
3) selective attention
4) divided attention
5) strategy/flexibility

Question 11

What is Sustained Attention?

Answer 11

Sustained attention enables a subject to direct attention to one or more sources of information over a relatively long and unbroken period of time

Question 12

What is Vigilance?

Answer 12

Vigilance is the ability to maintain attention over a prolonged period during which infrequent respose-demanding events occur

Question 13

In what areas were impairments shown in ADHD adults and children on the Continuous Performance Test (measuring sustained attention)?

Answer 13

• commission errors
• omission errors
• reaction time
• variability of reaction time

Question 14

What effect has been shown of MPH with regard to vigilance?

Answer 14

Off vs. On: only positive effect on omission errors

Question 15

What are the two kinds of alertness + their definitions?

Answer 15

1) Tonic alertness = a relatively stable level of attention which changes slowly according to daily physiological variations of the organism
2) Phasic alertness = the ability to enhanc the activation level following a stimulus of high priority

Question 16

What is Selective attention?

Answer 16

The ability to focus attention in the face of distracting or compensating stimuli

Question 17

What is Divides attention?

Answer 17

Required to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks or multiple task demands

Question 18

What is Flexibility (with regard to attention)?

Answer 18

The ability to shift focus of attention in order to control which information from competing sources will be selectively processed

Question 19

What are closed problems?

Answer 19

Problem which has a clearly defined initial state and goal state, can only be achieved by a certain solution and requires convergent thinking

Question 20

What are open problems?

Answer 20

Problem in which neither goal state nor solution are clearly defined, requires divergent thinking (most everyday problems are open problems)

Question 21

What are questions to ask by the neuropsychologist in search for markers that are distinctive regarding individual diagnosis of ADHD?

Answer 21

1) identification of potential candidates (cognitive functions)
2) promising/powerful candidates
3) typical profile across patients
4) comorbidity

Question 22

What are the 3 regulary found cognitive impairments in (adult) ADHD?

Answer 22

Vigilance
Inhibition
Working Memory