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Adults with adhd symptoms express a better inhibitory capacity when the perceptual load is higher

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

L.R. Carreiro ,
W. Machado-Pinheiro  and
A. Afonso Junior
L.R. Carreiro
Affiliation:
Developmental Disorders Graduate Program, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
W. Machado-Pinheiro
Affiliation:
Departamento De Ciências Da Natureza, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio das Ostras, Brazil
A. Afonso Junior*
Affiliation:
Developmental Disorders Graduate Program, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

ADHD is associated with impairments in different inhibitory functions, including suppression of an already initiated response and inhibition of distracting information. This work used a protocol that combines the Stroop-matched and stop-signal tasks to examine the association between the frequency of ADHD symptoms and different inhibitory abilities in a young adult.

Objectives

To investigate how the symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity / impulsivity are associated with three forms of inhibition evaluated by the Stroop-matched / stop-signal task: inhibiting an automatic response, controlling interference and canceling a response.

Methods

38 participants (33 women; mean age = 23.3; SD = 5.17) completed Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) assessing ADHD symptoms before performing the task. Reaction times, accuracy and stop-signal reaction time (SSRT; the latency of the inhibitory process of response cancellation) were calculated for each task condition.

Results

There was a significant correlation of ADHD symptoms and SSRT in the condition with the higher perceptual load (i.e., a greater number of colors presented in the same test). This correlation was negative (r = - .36, p <.05), which indicates that participants with higher ADHD symptoms frequency had more efficient inhibitory processes in this condition.

Conclusions

(1) the perceptual load of the task influences the cancellation of responses; (2) individuals with higher frequency of ADHD symptoms may have a better inhibitory capacity when the perceptual load is high, possibly reflecting a lower availability of attentional resources to process distracting information.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Stop-signal reaction timeADHDInhibitory process
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S613
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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