title: Reduced sleep-associated consolidation of declarative memory in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sleep supports the consolidation of declarative memory. Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not only characterized by sleep problems but also by declarative memory deficits. Given that the consolidation of declarative memory during sleep is supported by slow oscillations, which are predominantly generated by the prefrontal cortex, and that ADHD patients display low prefrontal brain activity, we assumed that ADHD patients show reduced sleep-associated consolidation of declarative memory.
  
  
  METHODS
  The impact of sleep on the consolidation of declarative memory was examined with a picture recognition task. Twelve ADHD patients (10-16 years) and 12 healthy controls participated in two experimental conditions: in the sleep condition, learning was performed in the evening and picture recognition was tested after nocturnal sleep; in the wake condition, learning was conducted in the morning while retrieval took place after a day of wakefulness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses of recognition accuracy revealed reduced sleep-associated enhancement of recognition accuracy in ADHD. While sleep-associated enhancement of recognition accuracy was correlated with slow oscillation power during non-REM sleep in healthy controls, no such correlations were observed in ADHD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate a deficit in sleep-associated consolidation of declarative memory in ADHD. Moreover, our results suggest reduced functionality of slow oscillations in sleep-associated consolidation of declarative memory in ADHD.
authors.affiliation: Center for Integrative Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Albrechts-University School of Medicine, 24105 Kiel, Germany. a.prehn@zip-kiel.de
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prehn-Kristensen
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Göder
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
authors.forename: Mareen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seeck-Hirschner
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aldenhoff
authors.forename: Lioba
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baving
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D017286:Polysomnography; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology