Female Experiences and Brain Activity
Condition: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; ADHD; Bipolar Disorder
MeSH terms: Hyperkinesis; Bipolar Disorder; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The Female Experiences and Brain Activity study will investigate how different groups of
      people process information in different ways. Using electro-physiological methods it will
      investigate differences in brain activity between women with ADHD, women with bipolar
      disorder and those without a psychiatric illness. It will also investigate the relationship
      between patterns of brain activity, mood and functioning.
    

Detailed description: 
      Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder (BD) affect
      approximately 2.5% and 1%, respectively, of the adult population in the UK. They represent a
      major clinical and economic burden on society. Genetic and environmental risk factors (such
      as life events for BD); have been identified for each disorder. Despite the highly different
      symptom presentations for ADHD and BD, it has recently become clear that they share a
      cognitive characteristic, observed in high response time variability (RTV). This has led to
      the question of whether the increased RTV, which reflects short-term fluctuations in
      performance, is a non-specific marker for psychopathology or whether the causes for the
      higher RTV could differ across disorders. RTV has been identified as a possible early marker
      of psychopathology; therefore a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms could lead
      to improved diagnosis and prevention of negative consequences. Further, it will give insight
      into the comorbidity observed between ADHD and BD. This study will use
      cognitive-electrophysiological methods to investigate the causes for RTV and its association
      with other cognitive and neurophysiological impairments observed in each disorder (aim 1).
      The second question will address whether, within each disorder, current cognitive functioning
      relates to the patients' current social functioning (aim 2). Adverse life events and other
      psychosocial risk factors can contribute to high variability in the level of social
      functioning observed, within and between individuals, in each disorder; yet our understanding
      of the association between current social functioning and cognitive functioning is limited.
      Finally the study will explore if any cognitive differences detected by electrophysiological
      investigation are associated with any candidate gene markers for either disorder (aim 3).
    

Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Study population will be recruited through primary care clinics and existing research
        participant databases.
      
Biospecimen description: 
      Buccal swab samples will be collected for DNA extraction.
    
Keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; ADHD; Bipolar Disorder; Electrophysiological; EEG; ERP; Attention; Motivation; Mood instability