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Effects of Methylphenidate on Inhibitory Control in
BibTeX
@MISC{Children_effectsof,
author = {Hyperactive Children and Rosemary Tannock and Russell J. Schachar and Robert P. Carr and Diane Chajczyk and Gordon D. Logan},
title = {Effects of Methylphenidate on Inhibitory Control in},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
This study investigated the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on inhibitory control in hyperactive children. A double-blind, placebo-controL withinsubject (crossover) design was used in which 12 children, between 6 and 11 years of age, were each tested four times in each drug condition: 0.3 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg of methylphenidate, and placebo. Dependent measures included (a) the probability of inhibiting responses to a primary choice reaction time task given a stop signal on the Stopping Task, and (b) response latency and errors on the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT). MPH improved the efficiency of the central inhibitory mechanism by speeding the inhibitory process, thereby affording the children greater control over their actions and enabling them to increase the probability with which they inhibited responses given a stop signal. MPH increased response latency but did not reduce errors on the MFFT, and observation of the children's task performance highlighted the interpretive problems associated with this task. Performance on both tasks was better at a dosage of 1.0 mg/kg than at 0.3 mg/kg. Manuscript received in final form January 6, 1989. This study was jointly funded by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (Grant No. 963-86/88) and Health and Welfare Canada (NHRDP: Grant No. 6606-3166-42). We wish to thank Patricia Fulford and Haroldine Phair for their assistance in data collection, the children and parents who participated in this study, the referring physicians, and the pharmacy department at the Hospital for Sick Children for preparation of prescriptions.
Keyphrases
inhibitory control mg kg stop signal response latency primary choice reaction time task interpretive problem sick child pharmacy department drug condition final form january matching familiar figure test patricia fulford haroldine phair welfare canada task performance ontario mental health foundation inhibitory process placebo-control withinsubject stopping task data collection dependent measure hyperactive child central inhibitory mechanism
