Speaker
Description
Objectives: Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists into adulthood resulting in lasting cognitive deficits including impaired attention and working memory (WM), reportedly being at the core of behavioral symptoms and functional impairments. A reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of prefrontal cortical activity has been proposed in ADHD, which could be linked to deficits in WM.
Methods: 84 persons with ADHD and 84 healthy control subjects will complete a visuospatial WM precision task while undergoing 3T MRI scanning, and blood samples will be collected.
Hypotheses: We expect to observe a significant decrease in visuospatial WMP precision in ADHD compared to HCS, as well as an associated reduced cortical SNR in ADHD in prefrontal and visual areas.
Conclusions: Findings regarding WM precision in combination with cortical SNR and genetic analyses would further the understanding of the decreased SNR in ADHD, directly connected to disturbed activity in the prefrontal cortex.