Neural Mechanisms of Attention Lapses in Adult ADHD
Condition: Attention Deficit Disorder; Hyperactivity Disorder
MeSH terms: Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      ADHD is a common disorder, leading to a significant disability that often persists in
      adulthood. ADHD is characterized by attentional disturbances that are difficult to asses with
      standard neuropsychological tests.

      Attention tends to stall after a certain time of fatigue (i.e. an attention lapse). The aim
      of this study is to study the electroencephalographic (EEG) characteristics of these
      attention lapses in a sustained attention task, comparing ADHD patients with healthy
      subjects.
    

Detailed description: 
      The main goal is to assess with EEG the timing of the attentional demobilization that
      precedes a sustained attention lapse in patients with ADHD.

      The secondary objectives are: 1 / To analyze impaired cognitive control mechanisms during
      lapses in patients with ADHD; 2 / Study the relationships between the deficits identified
      through EEG recording, clinical evaluations, and the subjective perception of daily
      difficulties; 3 / To measure the impact of the subjective attention state on the neuronal
      precursors of the attentional lapses; 4 / Evaluate the relation between propensity to
      wandering mind and attentional lapses.
    

Intervention name(s): Electroencephalography during sustained attention task.
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): The Continuous Temporal Expectancy Task (CTET) (O'Connell et al., 2009) is a very demanding discrimination task with sustained attention. It consists of the presentation on a computer screen of a visual pattern resembling a checkerboard that changes orientation at regular intervals of time. In this task the subject must respond (pressing a response button) to the appearance of rare target stimuli that have a longer duration (1120 ms) than non-target stimuli (800 ms).
SART (Sustained Attention to Response Task) (Robertson et al., 1997) is a task of inhibition (Go / No-Go task) to evaluate the capacities of sustained attention. It consists in the successive and random presentation on a computer screen of the numbers from 1 to 9. In this task the subject must respond, by pressing a response button, to the appearance of all the numbers (very non-target stimuli frequent), with the exception of the number "3".
Other intervention name(s): CTET (Continuous Temporal Expectancy Task); SART (Sustained Attention to Response Task)
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Patients included in the ADHD group are patients assessed during a specialized consultation
        on adult ADHD This consultation corresponds to standard care, during which a clinical
        examination is performed, as well as an interview with the psychiatrist.

        If the diagnosis of ADHD is confirmed, comorbidities are systematically sought and the
        eligibility criteria for inclusion of the patient in the study are verified.

        Healthy control are recruited by advertising.
      
Keywords: Electroencephalography; Neurocognition; Attention deficit; Attention lapses