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PMID: 7642836 Published · ppublish English Clinical Trial Comparative Study Journal Article Randomized Controlled Trial Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Methylphenidate and cognitive flexibility: dissociated dose effects in hyperactive children.

Journal of abnormal child psychology ·Vol. 23 ·No. 2 ·1995-04-00 ·Pages 235-66

Tannock R, Schachar R, Logan G

Abstract

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to assess the acute effects of placebo and three doses of methylphenidate (MPH) (0.3, 0.6, 0.9 mg/kg) on cognitive flexibility and overt behavior in 28 children with a confirmed diagnosis of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Two underlying cognitive processes (response inhibition and response reengagement) were assessed by measuring the probability and speed with which subjects could inhibit responses to a primary task (forced-choice letter discrimination) and immediately execute a response to a secondary task (simple reaction time) when given a signal to do so. Results indicated that MPH enhanced cognitive flexibility, although the high dose was less effective than lower doses in enhancing response inhibition. Dissociations of dose effects on cognitive function and behavior were demonstrated: Dose-response functions for changes in behavior were linear, whereas the function for response inhibition was U-shaped. Findings argue against the typical clinical practice of determining the response to stimulant treatment from a single measure such as parent report of child behavior.

MeSH Terms
Arousal/drug effects Attention/drug effects Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/drug therapy,psychology Child Discrimination Learning/drug effects Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Double-Blind Method Female Humans Impulsive Behavior/drug therapy,psychology Male Methylphenidate/administration & dosage,adverse effects Pattern Recognition, Visual/drug effects Reaction Time/drug effects
Chemicals
Methylphenidate
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Tannock R
Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
Schachar R
Logan G
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of abnormal child psychology
Abbr.
J Abnorm Child Psychol
ISSN
0091-0627
DOI
10.1007/BF01447091
Published
1995-04-00
Pages
235-66
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0364547
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/BF01447091
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