title: The Influence of Methylphenidate on Hyperactivity and Attention Deficits in Children With ADHD: A Virtual Classroom Test.
abstract: Objective:This study compares the performance in a continuous performance test within a virtual reality classroom (CPT-VRC) between medicated children with ADHD, unmedicated children with ADHD, and healthy children.Method:N= 94 children with ADHD (n= 26 of them received methylphenidate andn= 68 were unmedicated) andn= 34 healthy children performed the CPT-VRC. Omission errors, reaction time/variability, commission errors, and body movements were assessed. Furthermore, ADHD questionnaires were administered and compared with the CPT-VRC measures.Results:The unmedicated ADHD group exhibited more omission errors and showed slower reaction times than the healthy group. Reaction time variability was higher in the unmedicated ADHD group compared with both the healthy and the medicated ADHD group. Omission errors and reaction time variability were associated with inattentiveness ratings of experimenters. Head movements were correlated with hyperactivity ratings of parents and experimenters.Conclusion:Virtual reality is a promising technology to assess ADHD symptoms in an ecologically valid environment.
authors.affiliation: University of Regensburg, Germany.|University of Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mühlberger
authors.affiliation: Heidelberg University, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jekel
authors.affiliation: University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.affiliation: University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schecklmann
authors.affiliation: University of Würzburg, Germany.|University of Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conzelmann
authors.affiliation: University of Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andreatta
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: University of Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romanos
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time
chemical_list: D008774:Methylphenidate
keywords: ADHD; continuous performance test; methylphenidate; virtual reality classroom