title: Oculomotor Abnormalities in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Are Improved by Methylphenidate.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are relatively few studies of saccadic eye movements in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of this study was to examine inhibitory abilities of eye movements in children with ADHD and to explore the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on eye movement performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one children with ADHD (mean age 9.9 ± 0.4 years) and 31 sex-, age-, and IQ-matched children with normal development were examined. Saccades elicited not only by the gap, step, overlap, and antisaccade paradigms but also a simple fixation paradigm have been recorded using an eye tracker. The latency of each type of saccade, the error rate of antisaccades, and the number of saccades made during fixation have been measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with ADHD and naive to treatment with respect to controls showed significantly shorter mean latency of voluntary saccades (overlap paradigm), more frequent errors during the antisaccade paradigm, and higher number of saccades made during fixation. After 1 month of MPH treatment, all these parameters changed significantly and reached control values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, these results suggest that oculomotor abilities are poor in children with ADHD, which may correlate with deficits in inhibitory mechanisms. Treatment with MPH improves oculomotor performances through adaptive strategies, which may involve brain structures related to cognitive inhibition.
authors.affiliation: 1 UMR 1141 Inserm-Université Paris Diderot, Robert Debré Hospital , Paris, France .
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bucci
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital , Paris, France .
authors.forename: Coline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stordeur
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital , Paris, France .|3 Université Paris Diderot , Paris, France .
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Septier
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital , Paris, France .
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Acquaviva
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital , Paris, France .
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peyre
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital , Paris, France .|3 Université Paris Diderot , Paris, France .
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delorme
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015840:Oculomotor Nerve Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012438:Saccades
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate
keywords: ADHD; MPH; children; fixation; inhibitory abilities; saccades