title: Multiple task interference is greater in children with ADHD.
abstract: There is considerable lay discussion that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have increased difficulty with multitasking, but there are few experimental data. In the current study, we examine the simultaneous processing of two stimulus-response tasks using the Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) effect. We hypothesized that children with ADHD would show a greater PRP effect, suggesting a prolonged "bottleneck" in stimulus-response processing. A total of 19 school-aged children with ADHD showed a prolonged PRP effect compared with 25 control children, suggesting a higher cognitive cost in ADHD for multitasking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. ewen@kennedykrieger.org
authors.forename: Joshua B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ewen
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Moher
authors.forename: Balaji M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lakshmanan
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xavier
authors.forename: Nathan E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Crone
authors.forename: Martha B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Denckla
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Egeth
authors.forename: E Mark
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mahone
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*