Voluntary and Automatic Orienting of Attention in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: Voluntary and automatic orienting of attention enable proper processing of environmental information. Few studies have assessed how this process varies during development in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: This study analyzed voluntary and automatic...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Mariani , Mirella Martins de Castro, Lellis , Vera Rocha Reis, Novaes, Rafael Angulo Condoretti Barros, Schwartzman, José Salomão, Teixeira , Maria Cristina Triguero Veloz, Carreiro , Luiz Renato Rodrigues
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2021
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Repository:Archives of Clinical Psychiatry
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:revistas.usp.br:article/231771
Online Access:https://revistas.usp.br/acp/article/view/231771
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Voluntary orientating
Automatic orientating
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Children
Development
Description
Summary:Objective: Voluntary and automatic orienting of attention enable proper processing of environmental information. Few studies have assessed how this process varies during development in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: This study analyzed voluntary and automatic orienting in 30 children with ADHD and 30 age and sex matched controls (Control group-CG). Two experiments assessed voluntary and automatic orienting by recording reaction times (RT) to conditions in relation to temporal interval, spatial position, cue validity and age. The RT medians calculated for each condition and participant were analyzed using ANOVA to compare ADHD and CG. Results: Children with ADHD exhibited globally higher RT than the CG group. They also showed prejudices during the reorienting process and demonstrated adequate voluntary orienting for shorter intervals. In automatic task, there was no group interaction, expressing early facilitation, but not inhibition of return. Conclusion: These results identify correlations of ADHD and the children’s age in relation to voluntary and automatic orienting of attention.