Title:
Working memory in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: task performance strategies
Author:
Mark F. Cochran
Thesis Advisor:
Matthew Kirkhart
Thesis Advisor:
David Powers
Committee Member:
Julie Schweitzer
Committee Member:
Rachel Grover
Committee Member:
James Buckley
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2008
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
reformatted digital
Abstract:
An extensive body of research has established that working memory (WM) is a deficit affecting people with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that contributes to decreased functioning in social, academic, and occupational settings. However, a clear understanding of the factors contributing to the WM impairment has yet to be achieved. The present study proposed that the WM impairment in ADHD could be better understood by exploring psychological core deficits in the disorder. Functional neuroimaging studies examining WM in children with ADHD (e.g. Schweitzer, et al., 2008) found that brain activations differ between those with ADHD and typicallydeveloping controls. The authors suggested that the different activations in ADHD may represent compensatory neural strategies that make up for impairment in brain regions typically used for the task. The present study examined the role of psychological strategy, as a representation of the Internalization of Speech executive function, in working memory impairment by comparing the performance of 13 children with ADHD with 19 typically-developing control (TD) participants on the Visual Serial Addition Task (VSAT), a computer-based WM task. The VSAT performance measures included accuracy, the longest sequence of consecutively correct responses, suppression errors, and reaction time (RT). Following completion of the VSAT, participants were asked to describe any strategies they used to approach the task. Percent of commission errors on the McLean Motion and Attention Test (M-MAT), a ""Go/No-Go"" task, was included as a measure of inhibition. A phonological strategy was predicted to be the most effective strategy because the VSAT is a verbal WM task. Based on the neuroimaging findings related to strategy, the ADHD group was predicted to choose more alternative strategies, which was expected to result in poorer performance outcomes. Therefore, the TD group was hypothesized to choose a phonological strategy more often than the ADHD group, and TDs who used a phonological strategy were hypothesized to perform better than other groups in the sample. Based on Barkley's (1997a) assertion that inhibition is the primary deficit in ADHD, the TD group was hypothesized to commit fewer commission errors compared to the ADHD group. Contrary to expectation, results revealed no group differences in strategy choice, and found that the TD group outperformed the ADHD group regardless of strategy used. Group differences in commission errors were found to be variable depending on blocks of time. Interestingly, post hoc analyses revealed that a non-phonological strategy seemed to result in better performance for the TD group, while a phonological strategy seemed to result in better performance for the ADHD group, particularly regarding RT. The role of strategy in supporting more efficient inhibitory control, along with developmental brain delays in ADHD and group differences in arithmetic skill, are proposed as explanations of the findings of the present study. Implications for the use of strategy in working memory training to reduce the effects of core deficits in ADHD are discussed.
Subject:
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Subject:
Short-term memory
Subject:
Memory disorders
Subject:
Hollinghead's Four-Factor Index of Social Position
Subject:
Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents, fourth edition
Subject:
Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales-Revised
Subject:
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third edition
Subject:
Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Achievement
Subject:
NEPSY
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
CochranMF-08
