title: Effects of methylphenidate in ADHD adults on target evaluation processing reflected by event-related potentials.
abstract: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a widely examined disease in childhood. There is evidence that the disease responds well to medication with methylphenidate (MPH). The effect of MPH in adults with ADHD is a question that is often raised, because many adults request such therapy today. As yet, there is a lack of studies on event-related potentials (ERPs) and MPH in ADHD adults. In the present study we examined 10 adults diagnosed with ADHD, with and without MPH medication (30 mg daily), by means of ERP in a visual Go/NoGo experiment to gain information about target evaluation processing in these patients and about the effects on these attentional processes during medication with MPH. Visually, there seem to be differences in the frontal electrodes for the N2 and in the parietal electrodes for the P300. But these differences do not achieve statistical significance. There are also no statistically relevant differences for the N1 or the slow wave. MPH does not seem to have an effect on target evaluation processing, when comparing the ERPs of non-medicated and medicated ADHD adults. Especially the P3 does not appear to be modulated by medication with MPH in these ADHD adults, in contrast to findings in ADHD children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, D-30625 Hannover, Germany. ohlmeier.martin@mh-hannover.de
authors.forename: Martin D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ohlmeier
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prox
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zedler
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziegenbein
authors.forename: Hinderk M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Emrich
authors.forename: Detlef E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Dietrich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate