Measuring inhibitory control in children.
The Stop Signal Task is a measure of inhibitory control in which subjects must press a button in response to a stimulus. On certain trials, the subject receives a second stimulus (the Stop Signal) after the primary stimulus and must withhold his/her response during those trials. The onset of the Stop Signal is varied, sometimes coming immediately after the primary stimulus (inhibition is easy); at other times, the Stop Signal arrives quite late, making inhibition difficult. Results from the Stop Signal Task were obtained from children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and from controls; children with ADHD had significantly more difficulty inhibiting their responses than did controls. In a second study, results from the Stop Signal Task were obtained from a large sample of both behaviorally disturbed and community children; variables from the Stop Signal Task correlated well with both laboratory observations and teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity.
Pliszka
S R
SR
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio 78284-7792, USA.
Borcherding
S H
SH
Spratley
K
K
Leon
S
S
Irick
S
S
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications; D014836:Volition / Q000502:physiology*