ADHD Flashcards
Name the 3 core symptoms of ADHD
Inattention
Impulsivity
Hyperactivity
What are the prevalence rates of ADHD in 1) children and 2) adults
1) children: 3-7 %
2) adults: 4-5 %
Name three factors of the etiology of ADHD
1) significant heredity factor
2) global morphometric alterations of the brain
3) biochemical alterations of neurotransmitter functions (e.g. DA and NA)
How do 1) motor symptoms 2) impulsivity 3) inattention develop from childhood to adolesence?
1) motor sympoms reduce with adolesence
2) impulsivity reduces but remains deviant
3) inattention becomes more prominent
Name 2 main groups of adult ADHD diagnosis
1) diagnosed as children -> easy to recognize
2) never diagnosed before -> difficult to recognize
Name the 4 diagnostic steps in ADHD diagnosis
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)
Name the two possible pharmacological treatments options of ADHD and an example of each
1) Stimulants (MPH, amphetamine)
2) Non-stimulants (antidepressants, antihypertensive agents)
What is the mechanism of action of stimulant drugs?
Release of norepinephrine ans dopamine
What are examples of non-pharmacological treatment options in ADHD?
Counseling Education Psychotherapy Skill training program Cognitive training program Coaching
Name the 5 subforms of attention Van Zomeren and Brouwer (1994) distinghuish( Multi-dimensional model of attention)
1) alertness
2) vigilance/sustained attention
3) selective attention
4) divided attention
5) strategy/flexibility
What is Sustained Attention?
Sustained attention enables a subject to direct attention to one or more sources of information over a relatively long and unbroken period of time
What is Vigilance?
Vigilance is the ability to maintain attention over a prolonged period during which infrequent respose-demanding events occur
In what areas were impairments shown in ADHD adults and children on the Continuous Performance Test (measuring sustained attention)?
- commission errors
- omission errors
- reaction time
- variability of reaction time
What effect has been shown of MPH with regard to vigilance?
Off vs. On: only positive effect on omission errors
What are the two kinds of alertness + their definitions?
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
What is Selective attention?
The ability to focus attention in the face of distracting or compensating stimuli
What is Divides attention?
Required to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks or multiple task demands
What is Flexibility (with regard to attention)?
The ability to shift focus of attention in order to control which information from competing sources will be selectively processed
What are closed problems?
Problem which has a clearly defined initial state and goal state, can only be achieved by a certain solution and requires convergent thinking
What are open problems?
Problem in which neither goal state nor solution are clearly defined, requires divergent thinking (most everyday problems are open problems)
What are questions to ask by the neuropsychologist in search for markers that are distinctive regarding individual diagnosis of ADHD?
1) identification of potential candidates (cognitive functions)
2) promising/powerful candidates
3) typical profile across patients
4) comorbidity
What are the 3 regulary found cognitive impairments in (adult) ADHD?
Vigilance
Inhibition
Working Memory
