The primary purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of the typology and etiology of physical overactivity (hyperactivity) in ADHD. ADHD is uniquely characterized by inappropriate/excessive motor activity, yet motoric aspects of ADHD have been neglected in the research literature. Given high levels of intrusive/inappropriate motor behaviors and evidence that the neuropathology of ADHD involves frontal-striatal dysfunction, this study investigated the possibility that aspects of physical overactivity in ADHD could be a result of a “utilization behavior syndrome”.
Theories of this utilization behavior that claim the syndrome results from an imbalance between medial (frontal; voluntary, goal-directed) and lateral (parietal/visual; automatic, reactive) motor systems were also addressed. Results revealed high levels of utilization behavior specifically characterize hyperactivity in ADHD, and that motor overactivity in ADHD is not simply a result of generally heightened activity levels. Levels of utilization behavior were statistically associated with severity of hyperactive symptomatology as reported by parents of children with ADHD. Furthermore, utilization behavior was significantly related to difficulties on tasks thought to be dependent on the functioning of the medial but not the lateral, motor system. This supports theories that utilization behavior, at least in ADHD, could be a result of disinhibition of the lateral motor system due to dysfunction within the medial motor system. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9917 |
| Date | 16 August 2018 |
| Creators | Archibald, Sarah Jane |
| Contributors | Kerns, Kimberly A. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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