title: Attentional control activation relates to working memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Attentional control difficulties in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might reflect poor working memory (WM) ability, especially because WM ability and attentional control rely on similar brain regions. The current study examined whether WM ability might explain group differences in brain activation between adults with ADHD and normal control subjects during attentional demand.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 20 adults with ADHD combined subtype with no comorbid psychiatric or learning disorders and 23 control subjects similar in age, IQ, and gender. The WM measures were obtained from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. Brain activation was assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a Color-Word Stroop task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group differences in WM ability explained a portion of the activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which has been related to the creation and maintenance of an attentional set for task-relevant information. In addition, greater WM ability predicted increased activation of brain regions related to stimulus-driven attention and response selection processes in the ADHD group but not in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inability to maintain an appropriate task set in young adults with combined type ADHD, associated with decreased activity in left DLPFC, might in part be due to poor WM ability. Furthermore, in individuals with ADHD, higher WM ability might relate to increased recruitment of stimulus-driven attention and response selection processes, perhaps as a compensatory strategy.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cognitive Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA. greg.burgess@colorado.edu
authors.forename: Gregory C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.forename: Brendan E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Depue
authors.forename: Luka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruzic
authors.forename: Erik G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Willcutt
authors.forename: Yiping P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Marie T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Banich
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011930:Reaction Time; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D055815:Young Adult