Early attentional deficits in an attention-to-prepulse paradigm in ADHD adults.
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined for early and late attentional processes as a function of controlled attention. The test paradigm was the attentional modulation of prepulse inhibition (PPI; early controlled attentional processing) and prepulse facilitation (PPF; late controlled attentional processing). In 49 patients and 49 controls, the authors measured acoustic startle responses to 96-dB startle pulses preceded 120, 240 (for PPI), 2,000, and 4,500 (for PPF) ms by a 68-dB prepulse noise. Geometric figures signaled that prepulses were to be ignored or attended to (automatic vs. controlled attention). ADHD patients exhibited deficits in prepulse modulation, but these reflected an interaction of controlled attention and time of information processing. Normal PPI and PPF occurred under all conditions except for controlled attentional modulation of PPI. Attention deficits in ADHD patients may reflect not general derangements in information processing or ability to attend but, rather, selective disturbances of controlled attention during early information processing.
Conzelmann
Annette
A
Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
Pauli
Paul
P
Mucha
Ronald F
RF
Jacob
Christian P
CP
Gerdes
Antje B M
AB
Romanos
Jasmin
J
Bähne
Christina G
CG
Heine
Monika
M
Boreatti-Hümmer
Andrea
A
Alpers
Georg W
GW
Fallgatter
Andreas J
AJ
Warnke
Andreas
A
Lesch
Klaus-Peter
KP
Weyers
Peter
P
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors