Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty paying attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Diagnosis of ADHD rose 42% from 2003–2004 to 2011–2012. In 2011, 3.5 million children were treated with drugs. Optimizing therapy can take a year, and may not be completely effective. A clinical trial is currently being conducted of a device/drug combination using the computer game Minecraft, to determine how certain activities affect executive function, working memory, and restraint in patients diagnosed with ADHD. The human subjects’ responses are being modeled using artificial neural networks (ANNs), an artificial intelligence method that can be utilized to interpret highly complex data. We propose using ANNs to optimize drug and Minecraft therapy for individual patients based on the initial NICHQ Vanderbilt assessment scores. We are applying ANNs in the development of computational models for executive function deficiencies in ADHD. These models will then be used to develop a therapeutic video game as a drug/device combination with stimulants for the treatment of ADHD symptoms in Fragile X Syndrome. As a first step towards the design of virtual subjects with executive function deficits, computational models of the core executive functions working memory and fluid intelligence were constructed. These models were combined to create healthy control and executive function-deficient virtual subjects, who performed a Time Management task simulation that required the use of their executive functions to complete. The preliminary working memory model utilized a convolutional neural network to identify handwritten digits from the MNIST dataset, and the fluid intelligence model utilized a basic recurrent neural network to produce sequences of integers in the range 1-9 that can be multiplied together to produce the number 12. A simplified Impulsivity function was also included in the virtual subject as a first step towards the future inclusion of the core executive function inhibition.

Multisensory environments facilitate behavioral functioning in humans. The redundant signal effect (RSE) refers to the observation that individuals respond more quickly to stimuli when information is presented as multisensory, redundant stimuli rather than as a single stimulus presented to either modality alone. Our studies show that the disinhibiting effects of alcohol are attenuated when stop signals are multisensory versus unisensory. The present study expanded on this research to test the degree to which multisensory stop signals could also attenuate the disinhibiting effects of alcohol in those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a clinical population characterized by poor impulse control. The study compared young adults with ADHD with healthy controls and examined the acute impairing effect of alcohol on response inhibition to stop signals that were presented as a unisensory stimulus or a multisensory stimulus. For controls, results showed alcohol impaired response inhibition to unisensory stop signals but not to multisensory stop signals. Response inhibition of those with ADHD was impaired by alcohol regardless of whether stop signals were unisensory or multisensory. The failure of multisensory stimuli to attenuate alcohol impairment in those with ADHD highlights a specific vulnerability that could account for heightened sensitivity to the disruptive effects of alcohol.

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a commonly diagnosed mental disorder with an estimated global prevalence of 5.29% that exhibit inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive behaviors, many of which can negatively impact an individual’s social, academic, occupational and everyday-life. Studies based on the Delay Aversion Hypothesis have shown that video-games effectively contribute to the neutralization of some of the inattentive symptoms of ADHD, and that games could act as a possible treatment option for individuals with ADHD. Attempts to use video games as a treatment option has previously been tried, however to a limited extent. This study approaches the topic from the game design perspective, and discusses which game mechanics, activities and stimuli contribute to the possible neutralization of the inattentive symptoms of ADHD, in order to lay a foundation for future research within the area. The study found that the participants with ADHD acted in ways that contradicted some of the described symptoms of ADHD in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) when playing video games, which could be attributed to the amount of stimuli available in video games. Additionally, the participants’ level of motivation when playing video games seemed to be strongly correlated to the principles of andragogy, which could indicate that children with ADHD might benefit from an educational system that combines and incorporates principles from both andragogy and pedagogy.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorder, is increasing annually at about 5% per year. ADHD has been diagnosed in approximately 6.4 billion children in the U.S., and it is estimated that 66% of those afflicted have 1 or more comorbid conditions. Children with ADHD are often from socioeconomically challenged households. What is unclear from the literature is the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), defined as education, employment, and income and the reporting of comorbidities with ADHD. The problem is that children with ADHD from low SES households may be reporting a higher prevalence of comorbid conditions, which can lead to misdiagnosis, improper treatment, and greater financial burden for families and the public health system. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, nonexperimental study was to examine the relationship between household SES and the reporting of a comorbidity (anxiety, depression, behavioral issues) in children with ADHD by analyzing secondary data from the National Survey of Children's Health (N = 99,677). Ecological systems theory guided this study which is based on the premise that individuals encounter many environments in their lives and these environments can impact health and well-being. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that parental education level, employment, and household income were significantly associated with the reporting of comorbidities for children with ADHD. This research may lead to positive social change by allowing resources to be allocated to low SES households of children with ADHD to decrease the number of children developing comorbid conditions.

Orientador: Regina de Cássia Rondina / Banca: Raul Aragão Martins / Banca: Associada Rita Melissa Lepre / Resumo: O Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade (TDAH) é um tema atual que pode interferir no ambiente escolar, principalmente pelos efeitos que pode ocasionar. Quando suas características não são devidamente conhecidas e identificadas, a criança pode sofrer prejuízos, afetando seu desempenho cognitivo, emocional e social, na escola, na família e com seus pares. As transformações do mundo moderno expõem as crianças a uma grande variedade de estímulos. E ao se depararem com o ambiente escolar, muitos comportamentos ou características infantis podem ser confundidos com o real diagnóstico de TDAH. O grande aumento de diagnósticos desse transtorno em crianças em idade escolar resultou no aumento considerável de medicalização nos últimos anos. Nessa perspectiva de mudanças socioculturais, destaca-se a importância da família na formação afetiva e moral da criança, pois a estrutura familiar proporciona melhorias no desenvolvimento psicológico, como segurança, controle emocional e autoestima. O objetivo deste trabalho foi conhecer as concepções dos docentes de uma escola da Rede Municipal de Educação em São José do Rio Preto-SP sobre as características comportamentais de crianças que indicam a presença do transtorno e sobre a medicalização em alunos na instituição. Foi realizado um levantamento do número de diagnósticos de TDAH e o registro de medicalização utilizada pelas crianças em idade escolar na instituição. Como fundamento para a pesquisa, foi realizado um levantamento... / Abstract: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a current topic that can interfere with the school environment, mainly due to its effects. When their characteristics are not properly known and identified, the child can suffer damages, affecting their cognitive, emotional and social performance, at school, in the family and with their peers. The transformations of the modern world expose children to a wide variety of stimuli. And when faced with the school environment, many behaviors or characteristics of children may be confused with the actual diagnosis of ADHD. The large increase in diagnoses of this disorder in school-aged children results in a considerable increase in medicalization recently. In this perspective of sociocultural changes, the importance of the family in the affective and moral formation of the child stands out, since the family structure provides improvements in the psychological development, as security, emotional control and self-esteem. The objective of this work was to know the conceptions of the teachers of a school of the Municipal Education Network in São José do Rio Preto-SP on behavioral characteristics of children that indicate the presence of the disorder and on the medicalization in students in the institution. A survey was made of the number of ADHD diagnoses and the medical record used by school-age children at the institution. As a basis for this research, a bibliographic survey of authors in the areas of education and psychology was ... / Mestre

Current gaps in knowledge about twice-exceptional youth relative to those with only one exceptionality (e.g., high ability or ADHD) include how twice-exceptional students perceive their friendships (Foley Nicpon et al., 2010). Some researchers have found friendship qualities to be less positive for youth with ADHD (Humphrey et al., 2007), yet others have found friendships to be rated more positively by gifted youth (Field et al., 1998). The current investigation sought to determine how friendships are perceived by twice-exceptional youth compared to peers with ADHD or high ability or achievement, and those with average ability or achievement and no diagnosis. Participants included 65 youth (35 boys, 33 girls) in middle school. Participants completed the Friendship Qualities Scale (Bukowski et al., 1994), in addition to a demographic questionnaire completed by parents. A repeated-measures ANOVA design was utilized to compare friendship quality ratings based on ability or achievement and ADHD diagnosis, as well as gender. Participants with ADHD, regardless of ability or achievement, reported significantly less companionship, help, and security with a best friend than those without a diagnosis. Boys were observed to report significantly less closeness with a best friend than girls. Implications of the current findings for counseling psychologists in the areas of practice and theory include considerations of how youth are socialized based on societal beliefs about gender and disability. Additionally, recommendations for treatment considerations, particularly for twice-exceptional youth, may include strengths-based interventions to support areas of strength to help accommodate difficulties.

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Aim: This study aims to investigate the genetic components of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Reading Disability (RD), and their comorbidity. Methods: Three approaches were applied to data from 2610 Australian twin families. This data was obtained by parental completion of the ‘Twin and Sibling Questionnaire'. 1) Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was applied to generate genetically independent classes that defined ADHD subtypes and RD based on related cluster symptoms. 2) Genetic modelling was used to study the particular genetic and environmental effects of each ADHD subtype and of RD, and to examine whether children identified with comorbid ADHD-RD are a genetically distinct group from those who have only ADHD without RD. 3) A family-based genetic association, including haplotype block analysis, was applied to compare the efficacy of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and LCA in the genotyping analysis, to test the genetic overlap of ADHD candidate genes on RD phenotypes.and vice versa, and to detect some of the risk alleles of ADHD alone, RD alone, and comorbid ADHD-RD. This analysis was performed on a data set that included 190 individuals from the original sample; it tested twenty-one Single Nucleotide Polyrnorphisms (SNPs) from five ADHD candidate genes (DRD4, DATI, SNAP25, COMT, and HTR1B), and four RD candidate genes (MRS2L, KIAA0319, TTRAP, and THEM2) from the 6p22.2 region. / Results: The LCA dissected the phenotypes for ADHD and RD into nine genetically informative classes. Univariate and bivariate results indicated the presence of unique genetic components on each ADHD subtype and RD category, and also showed the existence of genetic factors for comorbid ADHD-RD. The association findings, using continuous data represented by scores,of DSM-IV-defined ADHD and RD, showed two significant associations for ADHD and RD, whereas the association findings for the categorical data, represented by LCA, were richer as they showed 15 significant single-locus with ADHD and RD latent classes. Some of these association results were between ADHD candidate SNPs with RD latent classes and ADHD-RD comorbid classes. Some RD candidate SNPs were associated with ADHD latent classes and ADHD-RD comorbid classes. Haplotype block analysis detected a presence of one significant haplotype block containing two haplotype-tagging SNPs (ht-SNPs) of the COMT gene (rs4680 and rs165599), including three risk alleles ('AA', 'GC', and 'AC') that were associated with some phenotypic RD components. Conclusion: This study found that the use of ADHD-RD latent classes is more suitable for performing genetic association studies and haplotype block analysis than is DSM-IV- defined ADHD and RD definitions. Furthermore, there is an overlapping of genetic effect, as ADHD candidate genes contributed to RD phenotypes and vice versa. Thirdly, ADHD-RD comorbidity is caused by both ADHD and RD candidate genes.

Extensive research on Theory of Mind (ToM) development in various clinical groups has shown that the ToM deficits evidenced in individuals with autism is variable and not specific to this population. With the often noted positive associations between ToM and ; a/.executive functioning, b/.social relationships, and c/.language development, a clinical group requiring investigation of the ToM development is children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), as they generally experience significant difficulties in these areas. Currently, however there is only a very limited and generally disparate body of knowledge about these children’s ToM functioning gleaned from small sample sizes with broad age ranges, typically consisting of unidentified AD/HD Subtypes and mainly utilising traditional ToM tasks. The purpose of this study was to address these issues by a/. examining Tom development in young children diagnosed with AD/HD Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type (AD/HD-HI) or AD/HD Combined Type (AD/HD-C) only; b/. utilising a larger sample size than previous research in this area, specifically around the critical age periods of first and second order ToM development; c/. examining the developmental progression of ToM development in young children with AD/HD; and d/. utilising a comprehensive range of traditional first and second order tasks and ToM related narrative tasks. Strengths and limitations of the present study are identified, the clinical implications coming from the present study’s findings are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood psychiatric disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Current theories of ADHD cite evidence from neuropsychological and brain imaging studies suggesting that abnormalities in the structure and function of the frontal lobes and connected brain regions are associated with impaired behavioural inhibition, constituting the primary deficit in ADHD. While most reviewers conclude that neuropsychological studies have failed to find specific deficits in various aspects of attention in ADHD, poor performance on attentional tasks, including the continuous performance task (CPT), is a common finding and previous electrophysiological studies suggest evidence of impaired attentional processing. This study aimed to investigate the cortical activity associated with attentional processes in children with and without ADHD, using steady-state probe topography (SSPT). Seventeen boys diagnosed with ADHD and seventeen age matched control boys participated. Changes in the amplitude and latency of the steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) associated with correct responses to targets in the �X� and �AX� versions of the CPT were examined. At critical time points in both tasks, the control group demonstrated SSVEP changes suggesting increased activation and increased speed of neural processing. These effects occurred predominantly in medial frontal, right prefrontal, right parietal and occipital regions, suggesting enhanced activity in regions previously shown to be involved in attentional processes. The ADHD group demonstrated much smaller increases in activation and processing speed in frontal regions and predominantly reduced activation and slower processing in parieto-occipital regions. Group differences suggesting reduced activity in the ADHD group were observed in response to the presentation of both cues and targets, as well as in the intervals leading up to target presentation, especially in the cued CPT-AX. These results suggest that processing of task relevant stimuli as well as preparatory and motor processes may be associated with dysfunctional activation of brain networks of attention in ADHD, involving deficits in both frontal and parietal cortical regions. These regions may also be involved in the maintenance of information required for correct task performance and the results also suggest possible deficits in these processes in ADHD. The findings are consistent with others of reduced activation and cognitive deficits in ADHD involving these brain regions and networks, and with the idea that ADHD may be associated with a diminished ability to regulate levels of arousal and activation appropriate to task demands.