Questionnaire ratings of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults are associated with spatial working memory.
OBJECTIVE
Data related to brain function may have the potential to improve the reliability and validity of assessments for the aetiologically and clinically heterogeneous syndrome of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study investigated associations between questionnaire assessments of behavioural features of adults with ADHD and an aspect of neurocognitive performance which has been reported to be impaired in adults with ADHD.


METHODS
Fifty-nine adult patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of ADHD, and their informants, completed questionnaires related to aspects of severity of ADHD. Associations were examined between questionnaire ratings and performance on a computer-administered task of spatial working memory (SWM).


RESULTS
Correlations between ratings of ADHD and SWM indicated moderate but significant correlations for patients' ratings, but not for informants' ratings. Also, patients who reported a past history of 'self-harm' (N=33) had a significantly worse mean performance on both measures of SWM (p=0.004, 0.003).


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that aspects of impulsivity, i.e. self-ratings of 'emotive' behaviour (involving rapid response to stimuli and marked reactivity of mood) and of past 'self-harm', show relatively strong associations with SWM performance in adults selected on the basis of an ADHD diagnosis. A profile of neurocognitive performances may have a role in the assessment of ADHD.
Dowson
Jonathan H
JH
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK. jhd1000@cam.ac.uk
Blackwell
Andrew D
AD
Turner
Danielle C
DC
Harvey
Elizabeth
E
Malhotra
Tina
T
Robbins
Trevor W
TW
Sahakian
Barbara J
BJ
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013028:Space Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires