title: Effects of methylphenidate in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a near-infrared spectroscopy study with CANTAB®.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A wide range of evidence supports the methylphenidate (MPH)-induced enhancement of prefrontal cortex (PFC) functioning and improvements in behavioral symptoms in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although working memory (WM) has been hypothesized to be impaired in patients with ADHD, no pharmacological studies have examined visuospatial WM (VSWM) with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study was designed to investigate the acute effects of MPH on neuropsychological performance and hemodynamic activation in children with ADHD during VSWM tasks.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subject group included 10 boys and 1 girl previously diagnosed with ADHD. Two VSWM tasks of differing degrees of difficulty were conducted. This is the first study on the pharmacological effects of MPH in children with ADHD to evaluate hemodynamic responses in the PFC with simultaneous NIRS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant differences were found in the scores for both spatial working memory (SWM) and score of spatial span (SSP) tasks between the MPH-off and MPH-on conditions. However, a significant MPH-effect on changes in oxy-hemoglobin levels in the PFC was found only in the SWM task.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that PFC activation might be affected by MPH, depending on the degree of difficulty of the particular task. Although the MPH-induced change on behavior may or may not be obvious, NIRS measurements might be useful for assessing the psychological effects of MPH even when performance changes were not observed in the cognitive tasks.
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Social Welfare, 2-13-32, Marunouchi Naka-ku, Nagoya-City, 460-0002 Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553 Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishitobi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Developmental Emotional Intelligence, Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, Department of Child Development United Graduate School of Child Development, 23-3 MatsuokaShimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan.
authors.forename: Sumiyoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.affiliation: Hiratani Pediatric Clinic, Fukui, 1409-2 Kitayotsui, Fukui-shi, Fukui 918-8205 Japan.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan.
authors.forename: Mizuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585 Japan.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inohara
authors.affiliation: Hiratani Pediatric Clinic, Fukui, 1409-2 Kitayotsui, Fukui-shi, Fukui 918-8205 Japan.
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujioka
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Social Welfare, 2-13-32, Marunouchi Naka-ku, Nagoya-City, 460-0002 Japan.
authors.forename: Tadamasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Narimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.affiliation: Hiratani Pediatric Clinic, Fukui, 1409-2 Kitayotsui, Fukui-shi, Fukui 918-8205 Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiratani
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Simoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan ; Developmental Emotional Intelligence, Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, Department of Child Development United Graduate School of Child Development, 23-3 MatsuokaShimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193 Japan.
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kosaka
keywords: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Cambridge automated neuropsychological testing battery (CANTAB®); Executive function (EF); Methylphenidate (MPH); Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); Visuospatial working memory (VSWM)