title: Probabilistic reward learning in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder--an electrophysiological study.
abstract: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is hypothesized to be characterized by altered reinforcement sensitivity. The main aim of the present study was to assess alterations in the electrophysiological correlates of monetary reward processing in adult patients with ADHD of the combined subtype. Fourteen adults with ADHD of the combined subtype and 14 healthy control participants performed an active and an observational probabilistic reward-based learning task while an electroencephalogramm (EEG) was recorded. Regardless of feedback valence, there was a general feedback-related negativity (FRN) enhancement in combination with reduced learning performance during both active and observational reward learning in patients with ADHD relative to healthy controls. Other feedback-locked potentials such as the P200 and P300 and response-locked potentials were unaltered in the patients. There were no significant correlations between learning performance, FRN amplitudes and clinical symptoms, neither in the overall group involving all participants, nor in patients or controls considered separately. This pattern of findings might reflect generally impaired reward prediction in adults with ADHD of the combined subtype. We demonstrated for the first time that patients with ADHD of the combined subtype show not only deficient active reward learning but are also impaired when learning by observing other people׳s outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: Patrizia.Thoma@rub.de.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thoma
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ruhr-University of Bochum, LWL University Hospital, Alexandrinenstraße 1, 44791 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Marc-Andreas
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Edel
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suchan
authors.affiliation: Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bellebaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D011337:Probability Learning; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012201:Reward
keywords: ADHD; FRN; Observational learning; Reward