Effects of stimulant medications on the EEG of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
BACKGROUND
Stimulant medications are the most commonly used treatments for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in North America and Australia, although it is still not entirely known how these medications work.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to investigate the effects of stimulant medications on the EEG of children with the Combined subtype of ADHD.


METHODS
An initial EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition and Fourier transformed to provide absolute and relative power estimates for the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands. Theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios were also calculated. Subjects were placed on a 6-month trial of a stimulant and a second EEG was recorded at the end of the trial.


RESULTS
The ADHD group had significantly greater absolute delta and theta, less posterior absolute beta, more relative theta, and less relative alpha than the control group, which is typical of EEG studies of children with ADHD. The use of stimulant medications resulted in normalisation of the EEG, primarily evident in changes in the theta and beta bands.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that stimulants act to increase cortical arousal in children with ADHD, normalising their brain activity.
Clarke
Adam R
AR
Brain and Behaviour Research Institute, and Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Australia. adam_clarke@uow.edu.au
Barry
Robert J
RJ
Bond
Dominique
D
McCarthy
Rory
R
Selikowitz
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000494:pharmacology; D011594:Psychometrics
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate; D003913:Dextroamphetamine