title: How can Continuous Performance Test help to assess inattention when mood and ADHD symptoms coexist?
abstract: Depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prevalent, and often comorbid, disorders, with varying severity levels among patients. Inattention is a symptom present in both disorders, which often makes their differential diagnosis difficult in clinical practice (depression only versus comorbidity). This study aimed to investigate the influence of depressive symptoms on attention performance using one of the most common tasks in clinical practice, the continuous performance test (CPT). Ninety-three college students (60 men, 33 women) with a mean age of 24 years old were investigated with self-reports and semi-structured interviews for ADHD; the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used for depression ratings. Attention measures were derived from the CPT. There was no correlation between depression and ADHD symptoms; in addition, depression was not correlated with any of the CPT scores; ADHD symptomatology was the only predictor of changes in those CPT variables (commission and omission errors and d prime). ADHD-associated impairment on the CPT was not augmented by the presence of depressive symptoms, making neuropsychological results on this test helpful for the differential diagnosis. When attention deficits are observed in individuals with mild or moderate depression, they are most likely not attributed to depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
authors.forename: Cintia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mesquita
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil; Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IOPPN) - King's College London, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: bruno.nazar@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Bruno P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Nazar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
authors.forename: Camilla M S
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pinna
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rabelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Antonia
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Serra-Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sergeant
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Institute of Psychiatry, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil; D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mattos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: A; Comorbidity; Differential diagnosis; Neuropsychology; University students; ttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityDepression