An assessment of neurophysiological, behavioral, and performance differences between ADHD and non-ADHD children

This study examines ADHD from the perspective of neurological, behavioral, and performance data. Subjects were twenty-three nine to eleven year old ADHD boys with complaints of hyperactivity and twenty-three matched controls. Differences between groups were invesitigated using referential nineteen-channel EEG spectral analysis, cortical event related potential data, rating scale data, and continuous performance test data. Additionally, physiological data was correlated with behavioral data to reveal consistencies. Results from the behavioral data were consisitent with previous research. ADHD subjects had significantly deviant ratings on the parental rating scale when compared with controls. Additionally, control subjects performed significantly better on the continuous performance test, with fewer errors, faster reaction times, and less variability in reaction time. EEG results indicate differences between ADHDs and controls primarily in the alpha bandpass. Mann, Lubar, Zimmerman, Miller, & Muenchen, 1992 found consistent differences between ADHD and control subjects in the theta and beta bandpasses for central and posterior regions. The present study found the two groups to differ primarily in the alpha bandpass, with evidence of increased alpha in posterior regions during baseline in the ADHD group compared with normal controls. Additionally, ADHD subjects showed decreased alpha in left frontal regions when reading. These results indicate that ADHD subjects with a hyperactivity component may have distinctively different neurological profiles than ADHD subjects without hyperactivity. Finally, correlations between EEG and behavioral measures showed few consistent relationships, with differential relationships found depending on a complex interaction of location, condition, and group.