Our literature review identified ANS dysfunction in individuals with ADHD , more often in the direction of hypo-arousal than hyper-arousal , particularly at rest and during tasks requiring response regulation and sustained attention .
Stimulant medications  increased ANS activity and , in some studies , reinforcers and rewards produced a similar effect , suggesting that ANS function can be modified in ADHD .
Although arousal mechanisms have frequently been found to be atypical in ADHD , these findings usually emerged from indirect behavioural measures which give only a limited underst and ing of arousal dysregulation in this condition .
Methylphenidate improves diminished error and feedback sensitivity in ADHD: An Evoked Heart Rate analysis
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ) is a developmental disorder that has previously been related to a decreased sensitivity to errors and feedback . Supplementary to the traditional performance measures , this study uses autonomic measures to study this decreased sensitivity in ADHD and the modulating effects of medication . Children with ADHD , on and off Methylpheni date ( Mph ) , and typically developing ( TD ) children performed a selective attention task with three feedback conditions : reward , punishment and no feedback .  Evoked Heart Rate ( EHR ) responses were computed for correct and error trials . All groups performed more efficiently with performance feedback than without . EHR analyses , however , showed that enhanced EHR decelerations on error trials seen in TD children , were absent in the medication-free ADHD group for all feedback conditions . The Mph-treated ADHD group showed ' normalised ' EHR decelerations to errors and error feedback , depending on the feedback condition . This study provides further evidence for a decreased physiological responsiveness to errors and error feedback in children with ADHD and for a modulating effect of Mph
Our literature review identified ANS dysfunction in individuals with ADHD , more often in the direction of hypo-arousal than hyper-arousal , particularly at rest and during tasks requiring response regulation and sustained attention .
Stimulant medications  increased ANS activity and , in some studies , reinforcers and rewards produced a similar effect , suggesting that ANS function can be modified in ADHD .
Although arousal mechanisms have frequently been found to be atypical in ADHD , these findings usually emerged from indirect behavioural measures which give only a limited underst and ing of arousal dysregulation in this condition .