Basic impairments in regulating the speed-accuracy tradeoff predict symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Abstract
Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by poor optimization of behavior in the face of changing demands. Theoretical accounts of ADHD have often focused on higher-order cognitive processes and typically assume that basic processes are unaffected. It is an open question whether this is indeed the case.Method We explored basic cognitive processing in 25 subjects with ADHD and 30 typically developing children and adolescents with a perceptual decision-making paradigm. We investigated whether individuals with ADHD were able to balance the speed and accuracy of decisions.Results We found impairments in the optimization of the speed-accuracy tradeoff. Furthermore, these impairments were directly related to the hyperactive and impulsive symptoms that characterize the ADHD-phenotype.Conclusions These data suggest that impairments in basic cognitive processing are central to the disorder. This calls into question conceptualizations of ADHD as a "higher-order" deficit, as such simple decision processes are at the core of almost every paradigm used in ADHD research.
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The slower reaction time of ISG-Mild on the stop task may reflect a speed-accuracy tradeoff.
“which may reflect a speed-accuracy tradeoff (Heitz, 2014; Mulder et al., 2010), for ISG-Mild also showed better accuracy than ISG-Severe within the same task.”
From Heterogeneity of executive function revealed by a functional random forest approach across ADHD and ASD (2020) · cites this paper as Mulder et al., 2010
The authors' results may further validate the necessity for subgroup splitting.
“As several studies have confirmed the variability of performance of ADHD participants on inhibitory tasks (Huang-Pollock et al., 2012; Karalunas et al., 2012; Mulder et al., 2010), our results may further validate the necessity for subgroup splitting.”
From Heterogeneity of executive function revealed by a functional random forest approach across ADHD and ASD (2020) · cites this paper as Mulder et al., 2010
ISG-Mild's slower reaction time on the stop task compared to ISG-Severe may reflect a speed-accuracy tradeoff in which ISG-Mild is compromising speed to improve performance accuracy.
“This may reflect a speed-accuracy tradeoff (Heitz, 2014; Mulder et al., 2010) in which ISG-Mild is compromising speed in order to improve performance accuracy on the task.”
From Heterogeneity of executive function revealed by a functional random forest approach across ADHD and ASD (2020) · cites this paper as Mulder et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Mulder, M. J., Bos, D., Weusten, J. M. H., van Belle, J., van Dijk, S. C., Simen, P., van Engeland, H., & Durston, S.
- Affiliations
- University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
- Princeton University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mulder, Martijn J.
- Venue
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-12
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1114-1119
- ISSN
- 0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1979422998
- Cited by
- 131
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 5.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Dutch Science Foundation (917.76.384)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, speed-accuracy trade-off, perceptual decision making, hyperactivity, impulsivity, decision optimization, children and adolescents
- MeSH terms
- Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Decision Making, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time
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