Ex-Gaussian, Frequency and Reward Analyses Reveal Specificity of Reaction Time Fluctuations to ADHD and Not Autism Traits
Open accessAbstract
Both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been linked to increased reaction time variability (RTV), a marker of attentional fluctuation. Here we test whether specificity to either trait emerges when we examine (1) detailed ex-Gaussian and frequency RTV subcomponents, (2) effects while controlling for the other trait and (3) improvement in the RTV measures following rewards or a faster event rate. 1110 children aged 7-10 years from a population-based sample completed a Go/No-Go task under three conditions (slow, fast and incentives). We measured RTV with standard deviation of RT (SDRT), ex-Gaussian distribution measures (Sigma and Tau), RT fluctuations in cycles of ~14-90 s in all conditions (Slow-4 and Slow-5), and RT fluctuations in cycles of 2-14 s in the fast condition (Slow-2 and Slow-3). Parent-rated ADHD and ASD traits were obtained. All refined RTV components were linked to ADHD traits only and not to ASD traits, while Sigma did not relate to either trait. Although both ADHD and ASD social-communication traits were associated with SDRT, the association with social-communication impairments disappeared when controlling for ADHD traits. A reward-induced improvement in RTV measures, indicating malleability, emerged in relation to ADHD traits but not ASD traits. Under closer inspection, specificity emerges of high RTV to ADHD traits. For the clinician, our findings indicate that attentional fluctuation in children with high ASD traits may be due to co-occurring ADHD traits and emphasise how the effectiveness of rewards does not generalise from ADHD to ASD traits.
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RTV has been shown to be specific to ADHD rather than ASD traits.
“RTV has furthermore been shown to be specific to ADHD rather than ASD traits (13, 61).”
From Differential effects of a single dose of Lisdexamfetamine and Guanfacine on cognitive function in children with ADHD (2025) · cites this paper as [61]
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Cites
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Kuntsi, J., Wood, A. C., Johnson, K. A., Andreou, P., Arias-Vasquez, A., Buitelaar, J. K., Rommelse, N. N. J., Sergeant, J. A., Sonuga-Barke, E. J., Uebel, H., et al. (2010) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.139 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
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“With our current and previous (Kuntsi et al. 2013b) results pointing to stronger associations of the RTV improvements with inattentive than hyperactive- impulsive traits, our findings further motivate future exploration of the neural correlates of RTV fluctuations in both ADHD subdomains.”
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Sorted by citations
El Masri, S., Kowalczyk, O. S., Chiu, T. H., Criaud, M., Lukito, S., Mazibuko, N., Salazar de Pablo, G., Perez Rodriguez, V., Makos, O., Lam, S.-L., et al. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1676472
- Authors
- Adamo, N., Hodsoll, J., Asherson, P., Buitelaar, J. K., & Kuntsi, J.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Kuntsi, Jonna
- Venue
- Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
- Published
- 2018-07-19
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 557-567
- ISSN
- 0091-0627 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2835
- PMC
- PMC6397137
- OpenAlex
- W2883120736
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 2.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Horizon 2020 (643051)
- Wellcome Trust (GR070345MF)
- Medical Research Council (G0901245; and previously G0500079)
- National Institutes of Health (HD044454 and HD059215)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- reaction time variability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD traits, autistic traits, ex-Gaussian distribution, attentional fluctuations, reward effects, event rate, go/no-go task, children
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Reaction Time, Reward, Normal Distribution, Executive Function
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