Backgrounds
Many of the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been
attributed to deficits in behavioral inhibition mediated by the frontostriatal system.
The ability to suppress unwanted saccadic eye movements is mediated by prefrontal
cortex–basal ganglia circuitry and thus constitutes a useful measure of inhibitory
ability.
Methods
To evaluate the functional integrity of this circuitry in ADHD, adult ADHD subjects
unmedicated for at least 48 hours and normal comparison adults were studied by means
of a comprehensive battery of ocular motor paradigms.
Results
On a prosaccade task, in which subjects were required to generate saccades toward
a peripheral visual target after a short stimulus-free interval, ADHD subjects generated
significantly more of anticipatory (premature) saccades (reaction time <90 msec) and
of saccades toward the target on catch trials, in which they were supposed to inhibit
eye movements. On the antisaccade task, in which they were required to inhibit gazing
toward the target while moving their eyes in the opposite direction, ADHD subjects
made significantly more directional errors than normal adults. The performance of
ADHD adults was consistent with deficits in saccadic inhibition.
Conclusions
Given the recent evidence for the interdependence between the brain systems mediating
visual attention and ocular motor behavior, these findings support the notion that
deficits in inhibitory mechanisms might underlie the inattention characteristic of
ADHD. These results also implicate abnormalities in prefrontal cortex–basal ganglia
circuitry in ADHD.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
June 15,
2004
Received in revised form:
June 2,
2004
Received:
October 14,
2003
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
