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Cited by 32Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderMind wandering and attentionNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Electrophysiological correlates of spontaneous mind wandering in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Bozhilova, Natali, Cooper, Ruth, Kuntsi, Jonna, Asherson, Philip, Michelini, Giorgia·2020·Behavioural Brain Research
DOI 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112632PMC PMC7303944
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Abstract

We recently hypothesised that increased spontaneous mind wandering (MW-S) reflects a core process underlying attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous studies show that individuals with ADHD and neurotypical individuals with increased MW-S display similar cognitive-performance and electrophysiological (EEG) impairments in attentional processes. However, the cognitive-EEG markers associated with increased MW-S in ADHD remain poorly understood. We therefore investigated such markers in a sample of 69 sex- and age-matched adults with ADHD and 29 controls during the Sustained Attention to Response Task. We compared task performance and EEG measures (P3, time-frequency brain-oscillations) of attentional processes between groups, and examined their association with a validated self-report questionnaire of MW-S. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that MW-S and ADHD diagnosis relate to the same cognitive-EEG impairments using a hierarchical regression model. Compared to controls, adults with ADHD showed attenuations in P3, event-related alpha and beta suppression during response inhibition (No-Go trials), and theta power activations during response execution (Go trials), as well as increased reaction time variability and more commission/omission errors. MW-S was also continuously associated with most cognitive-EEG measures related to ADHD. The hierarchical regressions on measures associated with both ADHD diagnosis and MW-S showed that MW-S did not explain additional variance in the cognitive-EEG markers (except for beta suppression) beyond ADHD diagnosis, and vice versa. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis that ADHD diagnosis and MW-S share common neural deficits, and that MW-S may reflect a core symptom of the disorder.

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  • Increased RTV has been shown to be a behavioral index of increased mind-wandering in adults with ADHD.

    “Furthermore, increased RTV has been shown to be a behavioral index of increased mind-wandering in adults with ADHD (71–73), and has been associated with abnormalities in “switching off” the neural correlates of mind-wandering, the default mode network (DMN) (74) during task performance in children and adults with ADHD (19, 20).”

    From Differential effects of a single dose of Lisdexamfetamine and Guanfacine on cognitive function in children with ADHD (2025) · cites this paper as [72]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports a novel association between increased spontaneous mind-wandering and RTV in a sample of adults with and without ADHD. It does not establish RTV as an index of mind-wandering specifically within the ADHD group: the association was assessed across the entire sample, and the Results (Analysis 3; page unavailable) found that mind-wandering did not explain additional RTV variance after ADHD status was included. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Bozhilova, N., Cooper, R., Kuntsi, J., Asherson, P., & Michelini, G.
Affiliations
  • King's College London (GB)
  • Queen Mary University of London (GB)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
  • Bozhilova, Natali
  • Asherson, Philip
  • Michelini, Giorgia
ORCID
Venue
Behavioural Brain Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-08
Volume
391
Pages
112632
ISSN
0166-4328 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112632
PMC
PMC7303944
OpenAlex
W3023334592
Cited by
32
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2
FWCI
3.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Behavioural Brain Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Greenwich Academic Literature Archive (University of Greenwich) (acceptedVersion)
  • Queen Mary Research Online (Queen Mary University of London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Institute for Health Research
  • NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre
  • Vifor Pharma
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
spontaneous mind wandering, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, P3, theta power, sustained attention, response inhibition, reaction time variability, omission and commission errors, Sustained Attention to Response Task, adult ADHD
MeSH terms
Adult, Attention, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Brain, Electroencephalography, Female, Humans, Male, Reaction Time, Event-Related Potentials, P300, Electrophysiological Phenomena, Self Report, Cognitive Dysfunction

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