title: Hot executive control and response to a stimulant in a double-blind randomized trial in children with ADHD.
abstract: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is thought to involve an executive inhibitory control (IC) deficit, yet it is not clear if this is a general deficit affecting both cold and hot EC, and if methylphenidate (MPH) affects both systems in treated children. We explored this by using a Stroop-like task in children with ADHD as compared to controls, containing different types of emotional stimuli (six levels), and we investigated the role of intervention with MPH on IC as compared to placebo. Children with ADHD and controls (N = 40; 7-13 years old) were tested with a hot and cold Stroop-like task. This was followed by a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial of the effect of MPH on these skills. Children with ADHD showed a specific difficulty inhibiting their responses, particularly to hot, angry and frustration-inducing stimuli. Further, treatment with MPH was effective in reducing errors toward frustration-inducing stimuli as compared to placebo (p < .05, η2= .347), particularly with repeated exposure to the stimuli. Results indicate that children with ADHD experience executive control difficulties, particularly in hot negative emotional contexts. These emotion regulation difficulties are amenable to stimulant intervention.
authors.affiliation: The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.|Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yarmolovsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Szwarc
authors.affiliation: The Hannah Khoushy Child Development Center, TheBnei Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.|The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: The Hannah Khoushy Child Development Center, TheBnei Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.|The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Emanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tirosh
authors.affiliation: The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. Ronny.Geva@biu.ac.il.|Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. Ronny.Geva@biu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5724-2153
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Geva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate
keywords: ADHD; Children; Executive control; Methylphenidate