Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-21T10:29:19.589Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evidence of utilization behavior in children with ADHD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2005

SARAH J. ARCHIBALD ,
KIMBERLY A. KERNS ,
CATHERINE A. MATEER  and
LAURA ISMAY
SARAH J. ARCHIBALD
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
KIMBERLY A. KERNS
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
CATHERINE A. MATEER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
LAURA ISMAY
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether inappropriate/excessive motor activity seen in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) could be characterized as Utilization Behavior (UB). Given evidence that the neuropathology of ADHD may involve frontal-striatal systems, we investigated the possibility that children with ADHD may demonstrate “utilization behavior.” Utilization Behavior (UB) is a neurobehavioral syndrome documented in individuals with damage or dysfunction in the frontal areas of the brain; patients exhibiting UB are often described as reaching out and utilizing objects in the environment in an automatic and inappropriate manner. The sample consisted of two group of children; children with ADHD (n = 32) and control children (n = 31). Children were assessed individually in a testing room where various objects, selected to elicit UB, were present. They completed cognitive tests and also were allowed to engage in an unsupervised activity. Testing sessions were videotaped and instances of physical activity (i.e., upper limb motor activity and utilization of objects) were counted by two raters. Results indicated high levels of object utilization in approximately one-half of the children with ADHD, whereas almost no such behavior was observed in controls. This behavior did not appear to be a result of generally heightened activity levels or due to instruction set, but differed according to object familiarity and object visibility. Levels of UB were statistically associated with the severity of hyperactivity, as reported by parents, of children with ADHD. This study suggests that inappropriate/excessive motor activity may, at least in part, be characterized as UB in some children with ADHD. (JINS, 2005, 11, 367–375.)

Keywords

HyperactivityFrontalStriatalMotor systemsEnvironmental dependencyDisinhibition
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , July 2005 , pp. 367 - 375
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alexander, G.E., Crutcher, M.D., & DeLong, M.R. (1990). Basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits: Parallel substrates for motor, occulomotor, “prefrontal” and “limbic” functions. Progress in Brain Research, 85, 119–146.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Archibald, S.J., Mateer, C.A., & Kerns, K.A. (2001). Utilization behavior; Clinical manifestations and neurological mechanisms. Neuropsychology Review, 11, 117–128.Google Scholar
Barkley, R.A. (1991). The ecological validity of laboratory and analogue assessment methods of ADHD symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19(2), 149–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barkley, R.A. (1997a). ADHD and the nature of self-control. New York: The Guilford Press.
Barkley, R.A. (1997b). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1), 65–94.Google Scholar
Brazzelli, M., Colombo, N., Della Sala, S., & Spinnler, H. (1994). Spared and impaired cognitive abilities after bilateral frontal damage. Cortex, 30, 27–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carte, E.T., Nigg, J.T., & Hinshaw, S.P. (1996). Neuropsychological functioning, motor speed, and language processing in boys with and without ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24(4), 481–498.Google Scholar
Casey, B.J. (2001). Disruption of inhibitory control in developmental disorders: A mechanistic model of implicated frontostriatal circuitry. In R.S. Siegler & J.L. McClelland (Eds.), Mechanisms of cognitive development (pp. 327–349). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Casey, B.J., Castellanos, F.X., Giedd, J.N., Marsh, W.L., Hamburger, S.D., Schubert, A.B., Vauss, Y.C., Vaituzis, A.C., Dickstein, D.P., Sarfatti, S.E., & Rapoport, J.L. (1997). Implication of right frontostriatal circuitry in response inhibition in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(3), 374–383.Google Scholar
Chelune, G.J., Ferguson, W., Koon, R., & Dickey, T.O. (1986). Frontal lobe disinhibition in Attention Deficit Disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 16(4), 221–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, J.L. (1993). Frontal-subcortical circuits and human behavior. Archives of Neurology, 50, 873–880.Google Scholar
Eslinger, P.J. (2002). The anatomic basis of utilisation behavior: A shift from frontal-parietal to intra-frontal mechanisms. Cortex, 38, 273–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eslinger, P.J., Warner, G.C., Grattan, L.M., & Easton, J.D. (1991). “Frontal lobe” utilization behavior associated with paramedian thalamic infarction. Neurology, 41, 450–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, E. & Podell, K. (1995). Lateralization in the frontal lobes. Advances in Neurology, 66, 85–96.Google Scholar
Goldberg, G. (1985). Supplementary motor area structure and function: Review and hypotheses. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 8, 567–616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodyear, P. & Hynd, G.W. (1992). Attention Deficit Disorder with (ADD/H) and Without (ADD/WO) Hyperactivity: Behavioral and neuropsychological differentiation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21(3), 273–305.Google Scholar
Gorenstein, E. & Mammato, C.A. (1989). Performance of inattentive-overactive children on selected measures of prefrontal-type function. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45(4), 619–632.3.0.CO;2-M>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grodzinsky, G.M. & Diamond, R. (1992). Frontal lobe functioning in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Neuropsychology, 8, 427–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groenewegen, H.J., Wright, C.I., & Uylings, H.B. (1997). The anatomical relationships of the prefrontal cortex with limbic structures and the basal ganglia. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 11(2), 99–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halperin, J.M., Matier, K., Bedi, G., Sharma, V., & Newcorn, J.H. (1992). Specificity of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity to the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(2), 190–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hynd, G.W., Hern, K.L., Voeller, K.K., & Marshall, R.M. (1991a). Neurobiological basis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). School Psychology Review, 20(2), 174–186.Google Scholar
Hynd, G.W., Semrud-Clikeman, M., Lorys, A.R., Novey, E.S., Eliopulos, D., & Lyytinen, K. (1991b). Corpus callosum morphology in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Morphometric analysis of MRI. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 24(3), 141–146.Google Scholar
Kadesjo, B. & Gillberg, C. (1998). Attention deficits and clumsiness in Swedish-year-old children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 40, 796–804.Google Scholar
Kroptov, J.D. & Etlinger, S.C. (1999). Selection of actions in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits: Review and model. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 31, 197–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaPierre, D., Braun, C.J., & Hodgins, S. (1995). Ventral frontal deficits in psychopathy: Neuropsychological test findings. Neuropsychologia, 33, 139–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
L'hermitte, F. (1983). Utilization behavior and its relation to lesions of the frontal lobes. Brain, 106, 237–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
L'hermitte, F. (1986). Human autonomy and the frontal lobes: Part II: Patient behavior in complex and social situations: The “environmental dependency syndrome.” Annals of Neurology, 19(4), 335–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lou, H.C., Henriksen, L., Bruhn, P., Borner, H., & Nielsen, J.B. (1989). Striatal dysfunction in Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorder. Archives of Neurology, 46, 48–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mariani, M.A. & Barkley, R.A. (1997). Neuropsychological and academic functioning in preschool boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Neuropsychology, 13, 111–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niedermeyer, E. & Naidu, S.B. (1997). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and frontal motor cortex disconnection. Clinical Electroencephalography, 28(3), 130–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niedermeyer, E. & Naidu, S.B. (1998). Rett syndrome, EEG and the motor cortex as a model for better understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 7, 69–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pennington, B.F. & Ozonoff, S. (1996). Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37(1), 51–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piek, J.P., Pitcher, T.M., & Hay, D.A. (1999). Motor coordination and kinaesthesis in boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Psychology, 29, 159–165.Google Scholar
Porrino, L.J., Rapoport, J.L., Behar, D., Sceery, W., Ismond, D.R., & Bunney, W.E. (1983). A naturalistic assessment of the motor activity of hyperactive boys. Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 681–687.Google Scholar
Raven, J.C. (1947, 1995). Colored Progressive Matrices Sets A, A b, B. Oxford: Oxford Psychological Press, Ltd.
Reich, W., Welner, Z., Herjanic, B., & MHS Staff (1997). Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents–IV, Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems, Inc.
Roeltgen, D.P. & Schneider, J.S. (1991). Chronic low dose MTPT in nonhuman primates: A possible model for Attention Deficit Disorder. Journal of Child Neurology, 6(Suppl.), S82–S89.Google Scholar
Shallice, T., Burgess, P.W., Schon, F., & Baxter, D.M. (1989). The origins of utilization behavior. Brain, 112, 1587–1598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shue, K. & Douglas, V. (1992). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the frontal lobe syndrome. Brain and Cognition, 20, 104–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sieg, K.G., Gaffney, G.R., Preston, D.F., & Hellings, J.A. (1995). SPECT brain imaging abnormalities in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Clinical Nuclear Medicine, 20(1), 55–60.Google Scholar
Spreen, O. & Strauss, E. (1998). A compendium of neuropsychological tests; administration, norms, and commentary (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Tannock, R. (2000). Language, reading, and motor control problems in ADHD: A potential behavioral phenotype. In L.L. Greenhill (Ed.), Learning disabilities: Implications for psychiatric treatment (pp. 129–167). Washington, DC, US: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Ullman, D.G., Barkley, R.A., & Brown, H.W. (1978). The behavioral symptoms of hyperkinetic children who successfully responded to stimulant drug treatment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 48(3), 425–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1991). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Zametkin, A.J., Libenauer, L.L., Fitzgerald, G.A., King, A.C., Minkunas, D.V., Herscovitch, P., Yamada, E.M., & Cohen, R.M. (1993). Brain metabolism in teenagers with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 50, 333–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zametkin, A.J., Nordahl, T.E., Gross, M., King, A.C., Semple, W.E., Rumsey, J., Hamburger, S., & Cohen, R.M. (1990). Cerebral glucose metabolism in adults with hyperactivity of childhood onset. New England Journal of Medicine, 323, 1361–1366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar