Evidence of A Pharmacological Dissociation Between The Robust Effects of Methylphenidate on Adhd Symptoms and Weaker Effects on Working Memory
Open accessAbstract
Working memory (WM) deficits often co-occur with, but do not define, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Preclinical and neuroimaging studies show that ADHD and WM deficits are dissociated at the level of individual dopamine receptor function. We hypothesized that there would also be a pharmacological dissociation of the effects of stimulants on ADHD and WM. ADHD subjects were derived from three prospective clinical trials involving treatment with OROS methylphenidate for at least 6 weeks. Subjects were adolescents and adults with DSM-IV ADHD with systematic assessments of WM and ADHD symptoms. Cohen’s d was used to evaluate effect size between baseline and week 6 for all assessments, and Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the relationship between assessments at baseline and between change scores for assessments from baseline to week 6. Cohen's d estimates for the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery spatial working memory measures differed significantly by 1.8 standard deviations (t= -10.8, df= 70, p < 0.001) and 1.9 standard deviations (t= -11.1, df= 70, p < 0.001) for the strategy and total between errors subcategories respectively. Confidence intervals did not overlap with those of the Adult ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale (AISRS). A similar effect was observed for changes in AISRS and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function working memory scale where the Cohen's d estimates differed significantly by 1.1 standard deviations (t= -2.5, df= 137, p = 0.015) and confidence intervals did not overlap. These findings provide further evidence for the dissociation between ADHD and WM deficits.
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Pharmacological and behavioral therapies have limited impact on the distinct neurocognitive impairments associated with ADHD.
“Pharmacological and behavioral therapies have limited impact on the distinct neurocognitive impairments associated with ADHD”
From Proof-of-concept study of an at-home, engaging, digital intervention for pediatric ADHD (2018) · cites this paper as [11]
Recent evidence suggests pharmacological treatment may not show optimal benefits in some neurocognitive domains.
“Recent evidence also suggests that pharmacological treatment may not show optimal benefits in some neurocognitive domains [10, 11].”
From Proof-of-concept study of an at-home, engaging, digital intervention for pediatric ADHD (2018) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Biederman, J., Chan, J., Spencer, T. J., Woodworth, K. Y., Kenworthy, T., Fried, R., Bhide, P., & Faraone, S. V.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Florida State University (US)
- SUNY Upstate Medical University (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Brain Sciences
- Publisher
- Conscientia Beam
- Published
- 2015
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 43-53
- ISSN
- 2410-8774 (ISSN-L)
- 2412-3463
- OpenAlex
- W2184805923
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Brain Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Journal of Brain Sciences (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, working memory, methylphenidate, OROS methylphenidate, executive function, spatial working memory, ADHD symptom severity
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