The effect of methylphenidate and clonidine on response inhibition and state regulation in children with ADHD.
The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) and clonidine in comparison with placebo on response inhibition and state regulation in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study utilised a double-blind cross-over design in which children were randomly assigned without replacement to placebo, MPH, and clonidine following baseline assessment. The primary dependent measures were derived from children's performance (reaction time and errors) on a GO-NO GO task under three conditions that altered the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) for presented GO-NO GO stimuli: ISI of 1 sec (fast condition), 4 sec (medium condition), and 8 sec (slow condition). Findings indicated no difference in task performance between groups treated for 7 weeks with placebo, MPH, and clonidine. We concluded that the state regulation problem in ADHD is resistant to MPH and clonidine.
van der Meere
J
J
Laboratory of Experimental Clinical Psychology, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Gunning
B
B
Stemerdink
N
N
D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D003000:Clonidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D010470:Perceptual Masking / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013565:Sympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014836:Volition / Q000187:drug effects
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D013565:Sympatholytics; D008774:Methylphenidate; D003000:Clonidine