Inhibitory control, impulsiveness, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

doi:10.1016/S0272-7358(05)80003-0

Clinical Psychology Review

Volume 13, Issue 8, 1993, Pages 721-739

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(05)80003-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

This article describes a new measure for studying inhibitory control, the stop signal paradigm, and the race model of inhibitory control of action (Logan & Cowan, 1984) on which it is based. This measure and model permit distinction and measurement of various processes which determine whether or not an action can be inhibited. Three studies are described that find a deficit in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in inhibitory control of an ongoing action and in the processes involved in the reengagement of an alternative action following inhibition of an ongoing action. No evidence of deficient attentional capacity was found in ADHD that could account for these deficits. These deficits were most pronounced in children who had ADHD according to reports of both parent and teacher (pervasive ADHD) compared to those whose ADHD was reported by either parent or teacher but not both. No deficit was evident in children with conduct disorder (CD) or in those with a combined presentation of ADHD and CD despite the fact that these groups were characterized by clinical impulsiveness. The article disucsses the implications of these findings for models of the relationship of cognitive deficit and behavior.

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Citation Excerpt :
Action control represents a complex mechanism that subserves several different processes such as inhibition, selection, competition and switching of actions with a composite network of prefrontal areas (AIN) that have a role in orchestrating such processes. Indeed, deficits in performance in action control have been seen in various psychiatric disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder (Schachar & Logan, 1990; Schachar, Tannock, & Logan, 1993; Schachar, Tannock, Marriott, & Logan, 1995). It has also been shown to be altered in cocaine dependent men (Li, Milivojevic, Kemp, Hong, & Sinha, 2006), autism (Kana, Keller, Minshew, & Just, 2007) and obsessive compulsive disorder (Chamberlain, Blackwell, Fineberg, Robbins, & Sahakian, 2005), while impulsive-violent offenders show elevated SSRT (Chen, Muggleton, Juan, Tzeng, & Hung, 2008).
The ability to inhibit prepotent responses is critical for survival. Action inhibition can be investigated using a stop-signal task (SST), designed to provide a reliable measure of the time taken by the brain to suppress motor responses. Here we review the major research advances using the combination of this paradigm with the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques in the last fifteen years. We highlight new methodological approaches to understanding and exploiting several processes underlying action control, which is critically impaired in several psychiatric disorders. In this review we present and discuss existing literature demonstrating i) the importance of the use of non-invasive brain stimulation in studying human action inhibition, unveiling the neural network involved ii) the critical role of prefrontal areas, including the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), in inhibitory control iii) the neural and behavioral evidence of proactive and reactive action inhibition. As the main result of this review, the specific literature demonstrated the crucial role of pre-SMA and IFG as evidenced from the field of noninvasive brain stimulation studies. Finally, we discuss the critical questions that remain unanswered about how such non-invasive brain stimulation protocols can be translated to therapeutic treatments.
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Previous studies have noted that child temperament characteristics, such as aspects of self-regulation, as well as parental feeding practices contribute to children's body mass index (BMI), and have implications for identifying children who may be at risk of being overweight or obese. While studies have considered children's temperament or maternal feeding practices separately, few have considered these correlates of children's BMI jointly or in interaction in relation to children's BMI. The current study included 179 mother-child dyads participating in a longitudinal study. Information on children's impulsivity and inhibitory control was collected when children were 24 months of age. Children's tendency to emotionally overeat, maternal supervision of children's eating, and toddler and maternal BMI were assessed when children reached 30 months of age. Higher toddler impulsivity and emotional overeating, as well as maternal BMI were positively associated with toddler BMI. Inhibitory control and maternal supervision of toddler eating were not directly associated with toddler BMI. However, the main effect of toddler impulsivity was qualified by a significant interaction with maternal supervision of toddler eating. For children high in impulsivity, there was a significant negative association between maternal eating supervision and toddler BMI. For children low in impulsivity, there was a trend level (p = .059) positive relation between maternal eating supervision and toddler BMI. These findings suggest that increased maternal supervision of children's eating may be beneficial for helping children maintain a healthy BMI when they exhibit high impulsivity.

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Inhibitory control, impulsiveness, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Cognition

Clinical Psychology Review

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Brain & Cognition

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The influence of halo effects on teachers' ratings of behavior problems

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

DSM III disorders in preadolescent children: Prevalence in a large sample from the general population

Archives of General Psychiatry

A comparison of objective classroom measures and teacher ratings of attention deficit disorder

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

Further evidence for family-genetic risk factors in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Patterns of comorbidity in probands and relatives psychiatrically and pediatrically referred samples

Archives of General Psychiatry

Cognitive styles and learning disabilities

Journal of Learning Disabilities

Cognitive development and reading achievement in pervasive-ADD, situational-ADD and control children

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Effects of event rate and display time on sustained attention in hyperactive, normal, and control children

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

Rating scales in drug studies with children

Psychopharmacology

In search of the point of no return: The control of response processes

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Attentional and cognitive problems

Cognitive deficits in children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity

Selective and sustained attention in hyperactive, learning-disabled and normal boys

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

DSM-IV field trials for the disruptive and attention deficit disorder: Diagnostic utility of symptoms

The assessment of impulsivity and mediating behaviors in hyperactive and nonhyperactive boys

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

The assessment of attention: I. Standardization and reliability of a behavior-based measure

Journal of Clinical Psychology

Disinhibitory psychopathology: A new perspective and a model for research

Psychological Review

Normative data on the revised Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

Refractoriness of a fast movement

Perceptual and Motor Skills

Factorial dimensions of the revised behavior problem checklist: Replication and validation within a kindergarten sample

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

On the synchrony of stopping motor responses and delaying heartbeats

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Attention and effort

Diagnostic conundrum of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

On the ability to inhibit complex actions: A stop-signal study of typewriting

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Dependence and independence in responding to double stimulation: A comparison of stop, change, and dual-task paradigms

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

On the ability to inhibit thought and action: A theory of an act of control

Psychological Review