None of the mediators or moderators tested affected methylpheni date efficacy .
Academic improvements were small compared to symptom improvements ; qualitative changes limited to math .
Academic improvement is amongst the most common treatment targets when prescribing stimulants to children with ADHD .
Previous review s on stimulant-related academic improvements are inconclusive and focus on task engagement .
Recent literature suggests outcome -domain-specific medication effects that are larger for productivity than for accuracy .
The aims of this study are quantifying methylpheni date effects on academic productivity and accuracy for math , reading , spelling ; exploring the mediating or moderating effects of symptom improvements , demographic- , design - and disorder-related variables .
A longitudinal examination of neuropsychological and clinical functioning in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): improvements in executive functioning do not explain clinical improvement.
BACKGROUND Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) often , but not always , persists into adulthood . Investigations of the associations between clinical and biological markers of persistence can shed light on causal pathways . It has been proposed that compensatory improvements in executive neuropsychological functioning are associated with clinical improvements . This is the first study to test this hypothesis prospect ively . METHOD The clinical and neuropsychological functioning of 17 boys with ADHD ( mean age 10.45 years at time 1 ; 14.65 years at time 2 ) and 17 typically developing ( TYP ) boys ( mean age 10.39 years at time 1 ; 14.47 years at time 2 ) was tested on two occasions , 4 years apart . This was done using a battery of st and ardized neuropsychological tests that included tasks with high and low executive dem and s. RESULTS Clinical improvements were observed over time . Neuropsychological performance improvements were also evident , with ADHD boys developing with a similar pattern to TYP boys , but with a developmental lag . Whilst there was an association between reduced symptoms and superior performance at retest for one task with a high executive dem and ( spatial working memory ) , this was not seen with two further high executive dem and tasks [ Stockings of Cambridge and intra-dimensional extra-dimensional ( ID/ED ) set shifting ] . Also , there was no association between change in executive functioning and change in symptoms . Baseline performance on the ID/ED set-shifting task predicted better clinical outcome . Only change in performance on the low executive dem and delayed matching-to- sample task predicted better clinical outcome . CONCLUSIONS These data highlight the importance of longitudinal measurements of cognition , symptoms and treatment response over time in children and adolescents with ADHD
None of the mediators or moderators tested affected methylpheni date efficacy .
Academic improvements were small compared to symptom improvements ; qualitative changes limited to math .
Academic improvement is amongst the most common treatment targets when prescribing stimulants to children with ADHD .
Previous review s on stimulant-related academic improvements are inconclusive and focus on task engagement .
Recent literature suggests outcome -domain-specific medication effects that are larger for productivity than for accuracy .
The aims of this study are quantifying methylpheni date effects on academic productivity and accuracy for math , reading , spelling ; exploring the mediating or moderating effects of symptom improvements , demographic- , design - and disorder-related variables .