Combined cognitive and state-control training for children with and without AD/HD: Effects on behaviour, working memory and resting EEG
-
1
University of Wollongong, School of Psychology, Australia
-
2
University of Wollongong, Faculty of Education, Australia
Aims: There is increasing evidence that working memory, inhibitory control, and state-control training can lead to behavioural improvement in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). State-regulation theories of AD/HD suggest it is a disorder characterised by an inability to adjust the energetic state level, which in turn has an effect on executive functioning and behaviour. As such, the present study examined the efficacy of a combined cognitive and state-control training program for children with a diagnosis of AD/HD and with sub-clinical symptoms, using a randomised control design. Method: The final sample consisted of 38 children aged 7-12 years, 18 in the training and 20 in the waitlist (WL) condition. Wizard-themed training games (Focus Pocus) took place in the childrens' home, with participants required to complete between 20 and 25 sessions over a 6-8 week period. Outcomes examined included questionnaires assessing AD/HD symptom severity and frequency, performance on a digit span and counting span task, and EEG topography and power during a 2-minute eyes-open (EO) and one minute Focus task before and after training. Results: Compared to children in the WL condition, children in the training condition showed significant reductions in AD/HD symptoms overall and specifically for the hyperactivity/impulsivity symptom of AD/HD. There was also a significant increase in digit length recall post-training for the digit span task. EEG power for the two EEG tasks showed typical AD/HD topographical differences at Time 1. Post-training there was some evidence of a directional trend towards EEG normalisation for children in the training condition, with more support for the active Focus than the resting EO task. Conclusions: Overall the results provide some support for the efficacy of a combined cognitive and state-control training program for children with AD/HD.
Keywords:
cognitive control,
state-control,
Neurofeedback,
working memory,
impulse control,
ADHD,
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
Children,
Attention,
training program
Conference:
ASP2013 - 23rd Annual meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Wollongong, Australia, 20 Nov - 22 Nov, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Other...
Citation:
Bonfield
R,
Johnstone
S,
Johnson
K,
Carrigan
S,
Roodenrys
S,
Bennett
S,
Church
E and
Sargeant
J
(2013). Combined cognitive and state-control training for children with and without AD/HD: Effects on behaviour, working memory and resting EEG.
Conference Abstract:
ASP2013 - 23rd Annual meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.213.00001
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
24 Oct 2013;
Published Online:
05 Nov 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Ms. Rebecca Bonfield, University of Wollongong, School of Psychology, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, rb983@uowmail.edu.au