Location

DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study

Event Website

https://depauw.campuslabs.com/engage/event/9085478

Start Date

3-5-2023 12:30 PM

End Date

3-5-2023 12:40 PM

Presentation Type

Thesis

Description

According to data collected and analyzed by researchers, it has been estimated that roughly 8.7 million adults live with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), resulting in an estimated $122.8 billion in excess societal costs due to increased healthcare costs, unemployment, and loss of productivity all of which are linked to ADHD symptoms (Schein et al., 2022). Additionally, literature suggests that adult ADHD is associated with increased risk of imprisonment and substance abuse, decreased educational achievement, increased comorbid psychiatric conditions, and poorer clinical outcomes (Ginsberg et al., 2014). Although there is a relatively clearer understanding about ADHD in adolescents, particularly the hyperactive ADHD subtype, gaps remain in terms of knowledge regarding the inattentive ADHD subtype which has led to the formation of diagnostic cracks in the diagnosis of ADHD in adults compared to adolescents.

Previous literature has documented known relationships between mind-wandering, inattention, and increased alpha activity in the brain (Arns et al.,2018; Bloomington, 2022). Because mind-wandering and inattention are characteristic symptoms of inattentive ADHD, this proposed study aims to use electroencephalography (EEG) technology to determine distinct patterns of alpha activity during mind-wandering in adult subjects with inattentive ADHD (Ginsberg et al.,2014; Solanto, 2000). The Sustained Attention Response Task (SART) has become the gold standard for mind-wandering research allowing subjects to self-report mind-wandering while analyzing alpha activity in real time using EEG. Previous studies using this method have shown that during periods of self-reported mind-wandering, participants have increased alpha activity in frontal and parietal brain regions as well as decreased performance in the SART task which is measured by increased response time and an increased number of task errors (Jin et al., 2019; McLoughlin et al., 2022; Sharma et al., 2015). This study will therefore build upon previous literature by utilizing the SART-EEG method to look into three specific aims: 1) assessing the patterns of alpha activity and 2) task performance during mind-wandering for adults with inattentive ADHD compared to typically developed adults, and 3) to assess the potential behavioral-neurological connection between SART task performance and alpha activity together. The overarching goal of the proposed study is to recognize distinct patterns of alpha activity in adult inattentive ADHD which could open the door for alpha activity serving as a neural correlate for the condition. Better understanding the neural mechanism of inattentive ADHD in adults while also having a possible biomarker could potentially lead to more robust diagnostic testing utilizing EEG, improved diagnosis, and increased treatment of inattentive ADHD in adults specifically.

Comments

Prepared as part of Professor Hertenstein's Neuroscience Capstone (NEUR 480) Fall 2022

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May 3rd, 12:30 PM May 3rd, 12:40 PM

Discovering Distinct Patterns of Alpha Activity in Adults with Inattentive ADHD Using Electroencephalography

DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study

According to data collected and analyzed by researchers, it has been estimated that roughly 8.7 million adults live with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), resulting in an estimated $122.8 billion in excess societal costs due to increased healthcare costs, unemployment, and loss of productivity all of which are linked to ADHD symptoms (Schein et al., 2022). Additionally, literature suggests that adult ADHD is associated with increased risk of imprisonment and substance abuse, decreased educational achievement, increased comorbid psychiatric conditions, and poorer clinical outcomes (Ginsberg et al., 2014). Although there is a relatively clearer understanding about ADHD in adolescents, particularly the hyperactive ADHD subtype, gaps remain in terms of knowledge regarding the inattentive ADHD subtype which has led to the formation of diagnostic cracks in the diagnosis of ADHD in adults compared to adolescents.

Previous literature has documented known relationships between mind-wandering, inattention, and increased alpha activity in the brain (Arns et al.,2018; Bloomington, 2022). Because mind-wandering and inattention are characteristic symptoms of inattentive ADHD, this proposed study aims to use electroencephalography (EEG) technology to determine distinct patterns of alpha activity during mind-wandering in adult subjects with inattentive ADHD (Ginsberg et al.,2014; Solanto, 2000). The Sustained Attention Response Task (SART) has become the gold standard for mind-wandering research allowing subjects to self-report mind-wandering while analyzing alpha activity in real time using EEG. Previous studies using this method have shown that during periods of self-reported mind-wandering, participants have increased alpha activity in frontal and parietal brain regions as well as decreased performance in the SART task which is measured by increased response time and an increased number of task errors (Jin et al., 2019; McLoughlin et al., 2022; Sharma et al., 2015). This study will therefore build upon previous literature by utilizing the SART-EEG method to look into three specific aims: 1) assessing the patterns of alpha activity and 2) task performance during mind-wandering for adults with inattentive ADHD compared to typically developed adults, and 3) to assess the potential behavioral-neurological connection between SART task performance and alpha activity together. The overarching goal of the proposed study is to recognize distinct patterns of alpha activity in adult inattentive ADHD which could open the door for alpha activity serving as a neural correlate for the condition. Better understanding the neural mechanism of inattentive ADHD in adults while also having a possible biomarker could potentially lead to more robust diagnostic testing utilizing EEG, improved diagnosis, and increased treatment of inattentive ADHD in adults specifically.

https://scholarship.depauw.edu/library_symposium/2023/2023/4