Journal article

Publication year: 2010

Pages: 285-294

Journal: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Volume number: 122

Issue number: 4

ISSN: 0001-690X

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01549.x

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 

Objective:

This study investigates whether hyperactivity, i.e. an increased level of motor activity, can be observed in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Method:

An infrared motion-tracking system was used to measure motor activity in 20 unmedicated adults with ADHD and 20 matched healthy controls (HC) during a 1-back working memory task.

Results:

Motor activity was higher in ADHD. It increased with the duration of testing and co-varied with cognitive performance in ADHD only. Subjective and objective measurements of motor activity were related in HC, but not in ADHD.

Conclusion:

Higher levels of motor activity in ADHD are objectively measurable not only in children, but in adults as well. It is linked to cognitive performance arguing against distinguishable diagnostic subtypes. The objective measurement of motor activity seems to extend the description of ADHD symptoms derived from rating scales and might thus help to bridge the gap between psychopathological symptom description and neurobiological alterations.

Harvard Citation style: Lis, S., Baer, N., Stein-en-Nosse, C., Gallhofer, B., Sammer, G. and Kirsch, P. (2010) Objective measurement of motor activity during cognitive performance in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 122(4), pp. 285-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01549.x

APA Citation style: Lis, S., Baer, N., Stein-en-Nosse, C., Gallhofer, B., Sammer, G., & Kirsch, P. (2010). Objective measurement of motor activity during cognitive performance in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 122(4), 285-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01549.x