Preliminary evidence of beneficial effects of methylphenidate on listening comprehension in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
OBJECTIVE
The effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on listening comprehension for information passages, and on working memory, was examined in a clinical sample of 16 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).


METHODS
Drug effects on comprehension of spoken language at the levels of single sentences and passages, and on verbal and visual-spatial working memory (WM) skills were assessed over a 4-day placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover treatment trial of MPH at low, medium, and high doses. Concurrent behavior ratings were also completed. Data were analyzed at both group and individual levels; individual improvements using average change scores were analyzed to explore interrelationships among comprehension, WM, and behavioral responses to MPH.


RESULTS
There was a significant effect of drug on comprehension of inferences from challenging listening passages (F = 3.1, p ,0.05), and on visual-spatial working memory performance (F = 3.3, p ,0.05), with significant linear dose-response relationships evident for both domains. Individual improvements in comprehension using averaged placebo-dose change scores were not related to improvements in behavior with MPH, or to improvements in WM in this sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings provide preliminary evidence that MPH affects higher-level language comprehension skills, which require sustained attention and mental effort. If generalizable to classroom listening skills, these findings have implications for clinicians and teachers involved with children with ADHD.
McInnes
Alison
A
Faculty of Education, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Bedard
Anne-Claude
AC
Hogg-Johnson
Sheilah
S
Tannock
Rosemary
R
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension / Q000187:drug effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000187:drug effects*
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate