Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Neuropsychological correlates and clinical presentation

doi:10.1016/S0278-2626(01)80046-4

Brain and Cognition

Volume 46, Issues 1–2, June–July 2001, Pages 114-121

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-2626(01)80046-4 Get rights and content

We compared the neuropsychological test performance of adult ADHD patients to the neurocognitive profiles of control subjects recruited from the general population. We administered a neuropsychological test battery consisting of measures considered sensitive to either orbito-frontal or dorsolateral-prefrontal (DLPF) dysfunction. Orbitofrontal hypoarousal is associated with behavioral disinhibition and a relative indifference to punishment. The DLPF region may function as a central executive system. Indeed, DLPF dysfunction may underlie many of the cardinal symptoms associated with ADHD. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) adult subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, would display neuropsychological deficits on tasks sensitive to orbitofrontal dysfunction; (2) adult subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, predominantly inattentive type, would perform poorly on measures sensitive to DLPF dysfunction; and (3) adult subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, combined type, would exhibit performance deficits on orbitofrontal measures and on DLPF tasks. Results partially confirmed our hypotheses. Subtyping ADHD patients revealed important group differences. Distinct neurocognitive and clinical profiles were observed.

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Therefore, disruptions in the development of ‘cool’ regions may also impact deficits of hot EF. Data on children with ADHD – a disorder with high comorbidity for DCD – support this argument: while considered mainly as a disorder of cool EF (Zelazo & Muller, 2011), a number of studies also report deficits of hot EF, particularly the hyperactive subtype (Castellanos, Sonuga-Barke, Milham, & Tannock, 2006; Dinn, Robbins, & Harris, 2001; Toplak, Jain, & Tannock, 2005). Both aspects of EF are vital determinants of behavior and adjustment over the lifespan.
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Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Neuropsychological correlates and clinical presentation

Brain and Cognition

Neuropsychologia

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Neuropsychologia

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A clinical workbook

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Annals of Clinical Psychiatry

Personality changes with frontal and temporal lobe lesions

Frontal- subcortical circuits and human behavior

Archives of Neurology