Application of the dual-component model of working memory to ADHD.
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with a deficit in working memory across both verbal and spatial domains, but the precise nature of this deficit is poorly understood. The dual-component model postulates that working memory capacity consists of two dissociable components: maintenance in primary memory (PM) and recall from secondary memory (SM). Participants diagnosed with ADHD (n=32) and age-matched controls (n=31) performed both verbal and spatial free-recall tasks, and subsets of these two samples were selected for further comparison based on their use of a "recency" order-of-report strategy. The primary results showed that maintenance in PM appears to be largely intact whereas recall from SM appears to be deficient in ADHD relative to age-matched controls. Similar outcomes were observed across both task domains. Implications for understanding both the underlying pathology and treatment of ADHD are discussed.
Gibson
Bradley S
BS
Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. bgibson@nd.edu
Gondoli
Dawn M
DM
Flies
Ann C
AC
Dobrzenski
Bradley A
BA
Unsworth
Nash
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012691:Serial Learning / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology