Resting, Waiting and Working: an fMRI study in ADHD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Resting, Waiting and Working: an fMRI comparison of brain states in adolescents with and without attention difficulties.
IRAS ID
152828
Contact name
Manoussos Broulidakis
Contact email
Research summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a collection of persistently occurring behavioural symptoms including a short attention span, restlessness and being easily distracted. Individuals with ADHD often find waiting challenging and will avoid situations that require waiting. When unable to escape a delay they may display characteristic inattentive behaviors, in part as a coping strategy, to make it feel as though time is passing more quickly. Identifying the parts of the brain that control waiting and examining how these may lead to difficulties tolerating delay in ADHD is important for developing future treatments.
The study will use a sample of 60 male adolescents, between 10-15 years of age consisting of equal numbers of ADHD patients and a typically developing control group (that do not have ADHD or any related disorders). Patients will be recruited from the South Hampshire ADHD Register (SHARe) and controls will be recruited from schools in the Hampshire area.
After recruitment and before the brain scan there will be a home visit. This serves two purposes: to fully inform participants and their parents what to expect during the rest of the study and to screen for eligibility to be included into the study using a diagnostic interview and questionnaires. The home visit will take around an hour.
The brain scan will take place at Southampton General Hospital using an imaging technique called functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). In the scanner participants will perform two lots of three five-minute tasks. A resting task where participants are instructed to lay still with their eyes open. A waiting task where participants may choose to wait in exchange for a monetary prize and a work task where they indicate the direction of a colour change using button responses. The scanning session will last around an hour and 5 minutes, with 45-50 minutes spent in the fMRI scanner.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SW/1005
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion