2015 Volume 16 Issue 3+4 Pages 171-178
In recent years, deficit in executive function has been noted as a core symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （ADHD）. Previously, with the aim of quantitatively assessing the characteristics of children with ADHD from the viewpoint of inhibition among executive functions, we have considered behavioral and frontal brain functions with regard to inhibition vis a vis meaning interference and color interference. In this study also, we undertook additional collection of data at a number of facilities and investigated usefulness as a differential diagnosis aid. A total of 38 ADHD children （age 10.4y±2.3y, 12 medicated） and 46 typical developing children （TD group;age 10.2y±1.7y）, matched （p>0.1） in terms of age, gender, dominant arm and non-verbal intelligence, were the subject of analysis in this study. Utilising a reverse Stroop task （RST）, we measured prefrontal area activity during task performance with near-infrared spectroscopy （OEG-16）. Results were:1） Behavioral results:in the RST, the ADHD children recorded a higher rate of interference （p<0.01） than the TD children. Also, within the ADHD group, the rate of interference showed a positive correlation with the severity of the attention deficit （r=0.48, p<0.01） and the severity of the hyperactivity/impulsivity （r=0.40, p<0.05）. 2） Brain activity:as regards brain activity during the RST, right lateral prefrontal activity was significantly lower （p<0.05） in the ADHD children than in the TD children. 3） Discriminant analysis:based on diagnosis, the result of discriminant analysis with reference to the rate of interference and the rate of prefrontal activation was an overall discrimination rate of 79.8%. Given that there is a correlation between the rate of interference in an RST and severity of ADHD and that right lateral prefrontal brain activity during task performance is lower than for TD children, these results suggest that RST results and changes in brain activity during task performance allow quantitative assessment of the clinical symptom of ADHD. Looking ahead, we think that, in order to construct a model with a higher rate of discrimination, it is necessary to increase the number of participants and carry out further selection of indicators.
