title: Possible Medication-Resistant Deficits in Adult ADHD.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The nature of ADHD, especially in adulthood, is not well-understood. Therefore, we explored subcomponents of attention in adult ADHD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three adults with ADHD were tested on neurocognitive and visual tracking performance both while on their regular prescription stimulant medication and while abstaining from the medication for 1 day. Pairwise comparisons to 46 two-for-one matched normal controls were made to detect medication-resistant effects of ADHD, and within-participant comparisons were made to detect medication-sensitive effects in patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Even when on medication, patients performed more poorly than controls on a spatial working memory task, and on visual tracking and simple reaction time tasks immediately following other attention-demanding tasks. Patients' visual tracking performance degraded while off-medication in a manner consistent with reduced vigilance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There may be persistent cognitive impairments in adult ADHD despite medication. In addition, the benefit of stimulants seems reduced under cognitive fatigue.
authors: 1 Brain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Maruta
authors: 1 Brain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Lisa A
authors: LA
authors: Spielman
authors: 1 Brain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Irene D
authors: ID
authors: Tseretopoulos
authors: 1 Brain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Adrienne
authors: A
authors: Hezghia
authors: 1 Brain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, USA.|2 Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA.
authors: Jamshid
authors: J
authors: Ghajar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D013995:Time
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants
keywords: assessment; case–control; eye movement; fatigue; ocular pursuit