Clinical and Pharmacogenetic Study of Attention Deficit With Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderAttention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a very common behavioral problem during childhood. It is estimated that up to 80% of this disorder could be related to genetic factors. The most common treatment for ADHD is psychostimulants. In this study, the researchers investigate the effect of genetic variants in increasing the risk for behaviours pertinent to ADHD or in modulating the response of these behaviours to methylphenidate. Response to methylphenidate is evaluated through a double blind placebo controlled one week study.
School-Based Mental Health Services for Urban Children
Conduct DisorderOppositional Defiant Disorder1 moreThis study will evaluate the effectiveness of school- and home-based mental health services and training modules in supporting learning and behavior in financially disadvantaged children who live in urban areas.
Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Covid-19 Outbreak
Autism Spectrum DisorderAttention-deficit Hyperactivity DisorderIn response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) outbreak, the home confinement of the population ordered by governments in many countries raise questions about its impact on individuals' physical and mental health in the short and longer term. In children, reduced physical activity, changes in lifestyle, disturbances in sleep patterns, lack of in-person contact with peers, poor or inadequate understanding of health risks may be risk factors of anxiety, stress, fatigue, sleep disorders. These problematic effects could be modulated by social factors (housing in urban or rural areas, availability of personal space at home, parenting stress, etc.).
Examining the Impacts of Fidget Technology on Attention in Children With ADHD
ADHDPurpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the usage of fidget technology and its effects on attention, working memory, and comprehension in children ages 6-13 with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study aims to examine the implications of fidget usage 2 different measures of attention; attentional control (working memory domain) and comprehension (recall, encoding, and recognition). Participants: 6-13 year-old clients at 3-C Family Services, a private mental health clinic in Cary, NC, with a diagnosis of ADHD (Inattentive, Hyperactive, or combined types). Exclusion criteria: participants with an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) below 70 as estimated by referring 3-C clinical staff, or any history of psychosis. Procedures (methods): This research will use a demographic and background collecting survey to gather relevant data about each participant. Parents will be asked to fill out a baseline ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Home Version (ADHD-RS), to account for their child's symptoms of ADHD over the past 6 months. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of 2 conditions, an experimental group where participants select a fidget, and a control group where participants are not provided a fidget. Fidget options will include a fidget spinner, pop-it, stress ball, and fidget cube as not all children would benefit from the same type of fidget equally. Participants in the experimental group will then be allowed to practice with and familiarize themselves with the fidget for 1 minute to decrease the attentional drain that the fidget may pose in its initial state. After random assignment to either control or experimental group, participants in each group will then complete the same 2-back version of the N-back Attention Control Task (cognitivefun.net), and a video comprehension multiple choice test. After 3 minutes N-back scores will be recorded including visual correct ratio and visual response time scores. The video comprehension item is adapted from Lee and List, 2019. The video is a Ted Talk titled "The Survival of the Sea Turtle" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-KmQ6pGxg4). Items in the multiple choice test will be aggregated to a score of percent correctness for each participant. Participants may request to have questions read to them by the research assistant present.
Exercise Enhances Brain Function in Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ExerciseADHD1 moreThe aim of the study was to investigate the different effects of exercise types on inhibitory control in children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.
Control of Cognition (Naltrexone, Methylphenidate, and ADHD Study (NMAS))
HealthyAttention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderThe goal of this research is to understand the functioning of 'regulatory circuits' in the brain. We are also interested in how the medications methylphenidate and naltrexone affect these regulatory circuits. This research study will use a scanning technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which takes a special kind of picture of the brain that enables us to "see the brain at work". Adult participants will be given a one-time dose of either methylphenidate, naltrexone,or placebo before each fMRI scan session. The main purpose for this research is to better understand the functioning of regulatory circuits in healthy individuals and individuals with psychiatric disorders. This research may one day help us develop better treatments for these disorders.
Vayarin® Medical Food Study for Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)The primary study objective is to evaluate the efficacy of Vayarin in ADHD adults.
Response Variability in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderChildren with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have numerous areas of neuropsychological dysfunction including response inhibition, working memory, and attention. One neuropsychological outcome measure that consistently reveals between-group differences is response variability. However, until recently, differences in response variability have been reported as an ancillary finding or viewed as a nuisance in the analyses. The specific aims of the present study are to 1) Examine response variability in ADHD patients across neuropsychological tasks to understand the breadth of this specific deficit and to understand the relation between response variability and other neuropsychological outcome measures; 2) Assess whether response variability deficits are specific to either or both of the two most prevalent ADHD subtypes (i.e., Combined Type [CT] and Predominantly Inattentive Type [PIT]); 3) Determine whether response variability in ADHD patients is affected by either medication or a variety of environmental manipulations (e.g., reward); and 4) Understand the relationship between neuropsychological measures of response variability and naturalistic instances of variable performance. Forty-five children (aged 7-11) with ADHD-CT, 45 children with ADHD-PIT, and 45 normal controls will be recruited to examine response variability across a wide range of neuropsychological tests. Task parameters such as event rate, stimulus saliency, and the presence of operant reward will be modified on each test to determine the conditions under which response variability is manifested in children with ADHD. In addition, all children with ADHD will participate in a placebo-controlled, randomized medication trial with a psychostimulant medication to assess the effects of medication on response variability. Advanced analytic methods utilizing non-Gaussian distributions and fast Fourier Transforms of the reaction time data will be used to conduct detailed analyses of RT patterns across the ADHD and normal control groups. Further, the effects of task parametric manipulations and medication on response variability will be examined. Finally, relations between response variability on neuropsychological tests and response variability in a variety of real-world analog situations will be examined to evaluate the ecological validity of these deficits.
Nicotine, Non-Smokers With and Without ADHD, and Genetics Study
Non-smokerADHDThe overall goal of the proposed research is to evaluate the behavioral and genetic mechanisms of smoking risk in non-smoking young adults (aged 18-25 years of age) with and without ADHD using a novel laboratory-based model of intranasal nicotine administration. Study Hypotheses: that nicotine will produce greater positive and fewer negative/aversive subjective effects in individuals with ADHD. The study team also hypothesizes that nicotine will improve performance to a greater degree in those with ADHD. that individuals in the ADHD group will exhibit an increase in choices for nicotine vs. placebo in both conditions (i.e., main effect) and that this effect will be more pronounced in the High Demand vs. Low Demand conditions (i.e. Group x Condition interaction). Also that greater performance enhancing effects of nicotine will be associated with greater nicotine choice during the high demand cognitive condition. that the main effects of ADHD status on nicotine reinforcement will be heightened in the presence of certain genotypes. Also that the main effects of ADHD status on nicotine reinforcement will be heightened in the presence of certain genotypes. Finally that exposure to nicotine will alter epigenetic patterns in DNA
Organizational Skill Training (OST) in Schools
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)The primary aim of this project is to address the need for an effective school-based intervention for elementary school-aged students with Organization, Time Management, and Planning (OTMP) deficits by adapting an evidence-supported clinic-based intervention so that it can be implemented in school settings. Investigators are learning to adapt an individual, clinic based program (OST-C) for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) to children with OTMP problems. Investigators will be collecting data . To this end, investigators will be collecting data on implementation (such as feasibility and acceptability), program development (what changes to the individual OST-C program were made based on findings during this study) and limited outcome data (repeated measures collection and pre- and post-treatment collection on a small sample, no control group).