Inhibitory Processes in Adults With Persistent Childhood Onset ADHD

• Published in: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology Vol. 70; no. 1; pp. 153 - 157
• Main Authors: Nigg, Joel T, Butler, Karin M, Huang-Pollock, Cynthia L, Henderson, John M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-02-2002
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adults; Age Factors; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Behavioral Inhibition; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Female; Human; Humans; Inhibition (Psychology); Inhibitory processes; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Motor Processes; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Severity of Illness Index; Young adults; Human; Attentional disorder; Hyperactivity; Priming effect; Young adult; Information processing; Anticipation; Cognition; Inhibition; Motricity; Eye movement
• ISSN: 0022-006X; 1939-2117
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.70.1.153

The theory that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stems from a deficit in an executive behavioral inhibition process has been little studied in adults, where the validity of ADHD is in debate. This study examined, in high-functioning young adults with persistent ADHD and a control group, 2 leading measures of inhibitory control: the antisaccade task and the negative priming task. ADHD adults showed weakened ability to effortfully stop a reflexive or anticipated oculomotor response but had normal ability to automatically suppress irrelevant information. Results suggest that an inhibitory deficit in ADHD is confined to effortful inhibition of motor response, that antisaccade and negative priming tasks index distinct inhibition systems, and that persistence of ADHD symptoms into adulthood is associated with persistence of executive motor inhibition deficits.