EEG Development in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: From Child to Adult.
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1
University of Wollongong, Australia
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2
Sydney Developmental Clinic, Australia
Aims: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is the most common psychiatric disorder of childhood, and in the DSM-5, is classed as a neuro-developmental disorder. A vast literature over the past 50 years has investigated EEG abnormalities in this population. However, little is known about lifespan EEG development in these individuals. The aim of this study was to conduct an initial investigation of EEG maturational processes.
Method: Twenty five male participants were initially assessed as children (aged 8 to 12 years) and met DSM-IV criteria for AD/HD combined type. Subjects were re-assessed as young adults with a mean age of 21.7 years. Two separate control groups were used (children, adults). EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition from 19 electrodes, and Fourier transformed to provide relative power estimates in delta, theta, alpha and beta bands. Results: As children the AD/HD participants had increased posterior delta, increased global theta and decreased global alpha activity. Significant maturational changes were found in the AD/HD group, with global reductions in delta and theta activity, and increases in alpha and beta activity. Beta activity changed more in the posterior regions than the frontal regions. As adults, the AD/HD groups had reduced frontal delta activity, and global theta activity was elevated. In the beta band, the AD/HD group had greater power in the right hemisphere while the control group had greater power in the left.
Conclusions: Significant normal maturational changes occur in the EEG of AD/HD patients from childhood to adulthood. These results have important implications for the use of EEG as a diagnostic aid for AD/HD. Normalisation of the alpha band also raises important questions about the underlying mechanisms involved in AD/HD.
Keywords:
EEG,
development,
ADHD,
Children,
Adult
Conference:
ASP2016 - The 26th Annual Meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Adelaide Australia, Adelaide,SA, Australia, 12 Dec - 14 Dec, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Abstract (general)
Citation:
Clarke
AR,
Barry
RJ,
Dupuy
FE,
McCarthy
R and
Selikowitz
M
(2016). EEG Development in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: From Child to Adult..
Conference Abstract:
ASP2016 - The 26th Annual Meeting of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Adelaide Australia.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2016.221.00020
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Received:
30 Oct 2016;
Published Online:
05 Dec 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Adam R Clarke, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, aclarke@uow.edu.au