title: Vigilance and sustained attention in children and adults with ADHD.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present article tests the hypothesis of a sustained attention deficit in children and adults suffering from ADHD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vigilance and sustained attention of 52 children with ADHD and 38 adults with ADHD were assessed using a computerized vigilance task. Furthermore, the attentional performance of healthy children (N = 52) and healthy adults (N = 38) was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children and adults with ADHD performed significantly less well in the vigilance task than healthy participants (main effect for group). Furthermore, children and adults showed a significant decrease of performance over time (time-on-task effects). However, there was no greater decrement of performance with the passage of time in patient groups than in control groups (group-by-time interaction).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present results do not support the hypothesis of a sustained attention deficit in children and adults with ADHD.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon, UK.
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tucha
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tucha
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walitza
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Sontag
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laufkötter
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linder
authors.forename: Klaus W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lange
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time