title: The relationship between continuous performance tasks and neuropsychological tests in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: We examined the relationship between measures of sustained attention and impulsivity, as obtained by computerized continuous performance tasks of the Gordon Diagnostic System and a battery of intellectual, achievement, and neuropsychological tests. Subjects were 119 boys (between the ages of 6 yr., 0 mo. and 12 yr., 11 mo.), diagnosed with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, using DSM-III or DSM-III--R criteria. Only two measures, the number of correct responses for Vigilance and Distractibility tasks, correlated consistently with other measures (e.g., intellectual measures, the WRAT--R Arithmetic subtest, Beery Test of Visual and Motor Integration, and various sensory-motor variables from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery). The results suggest a unique contribution of continuous performance tasks in the measurement of attention, in a population of children with ADHD, which is not assessed by more traditional tests.
authors.affiliation: Austin Neurological Clinic, TX 78765.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ilai
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Nussbaum
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Bigler
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D014888:Wechsler Scales