Review of the evidence suggests that  task performance  may be useful in identifying individuals with ADHD at risk for academic impairment .
However , the evidence is less compelling for identifying youth at risk for impaired social functioning or poor health outcomes .
The review also found that task performance is likely useful for predicting response to treatment with methylpheni date .
Across studies , evidence indicated that interpreting task performance in an integrated manner , such as a factor score or mean score , was more consistently useful for predicting outcomes of interest than interpreting performance from a single task .
The role that neuropsychological task performance plays in the assessment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ) is currently ambiguous , and findings are mixed regarding whether tasks have validity for diagnosing the disorder .
Irrespective of their validity for diagnosing ADHD , neuropsychological tasks could provide valuable information to mental health professionals if they can inform recommendations for treatment targets and modalities .
Therefore , this review sought to synthesize the available evidence related to the use of neuropsychological task performance as a tool for informing treatment planning for youth with ADHD .
Review ed studies focused on examinations of associations between task performance and academic , social , and health outcomes , as well as response to treatment .
Executive dysfunction predicts nonresponse to fluoxetine in major depression.
BACKGROUND Functional brain imaging studies of major depression have consistently revealed hypometabolism or hypoperfusion in specific regions of the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia . Studies of cognitive functioning in major depression have suggested that some but not all subjects exhibit cognitive deficits that are consistent with frontal-subcortical dysfunction , although the reasons for this heterogeneity are unclear . In this study , we explored this heterogeneity among depressed subjects by examining the relationship between cognitive functioning and treatment outcome . METHOD Subjects with major depression were administered a complete neuropsychological test battery prior to treatment with fluoxetine . RESULTS There were no significant differences between responders and nonresponders to fluoxetine in terms of age , educational achievement , number of past episodes of depression , and estimated premorbid IQ . However , nonresponders performed significantly worse than responders on several pretreatment measures of executive functioning , after controlling for baseline group differences in depression severity . LIMITATIONS The results are based on a small sample of primarily female subjects , result ing in low statistical power and less generalizability to sample s of male subjects with depression . CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that subtle prefrontal dysfunction in subjects with major depression may be predictive of poor response with particular medications . Assessment of the executive functions may play a particular role in pretreatment identification of subjects likely to respond to specific medications
Review of the evidence suggests that  task performance  may be useful in identifying individuals with ADHD at risk for academic impairment .
However , the evidence is less compelling for identifying youth at risk for impaired social functioning or poor health outcomes .
The review also found that task performance is likely useful for predicting response to treatment with methylpheni date .
Across studies , evidence indicated that interpreting task performance in an integrated manner , such as a factor score or mean score , was more consistently useful for predicting outcomes of interest than interpreting performance from a single task .
The role that neuropsychological task performance plays in the assessment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ) is currently ambiguous , and findings are mixed regarding whether tasks have validity for diagnosing the disorder .
Irrespective of their validity for diagnosing ADHD , neuropsychological tasks could provide valuable information to mental health professionals if they can inform recommendations for treatment targets and modalities .
Therefore , this review sought to synthesize the available evidence related to the use of neuropsychological task performance as a tool for informing treatment planning for youth with ADHD .
Review ed studies focused on examinations of associations between task performance and academic , social , and health outcomes , as well as response to treatment .