BackgroundPreterm birth is associated with an increased risk for cognitive-neurophysiological imp... more BackgroundPreterm birth is associated with an increased risk for cognitive-neurophysiological impairments and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether the associations are due to the preterm birth insult per se, or due to other risk factors that characterise families with preterm-born children, is largely unknown.MethodsWe employed a within-sibling comparison design, using cognitive-performance and event-related potential (ERP) measures from 104 preterm-born adolescents and 104 of their term-born siblings. Analyses focused on ADHD symptoms and cognitive and ERP measures from a cued continuous performance test, an arrow flanker task and a reaction time task.ResultsWithin-sibling analyses showed that preterm birth was significantly associated with increased ADHD symptoms (β = 0.32, p = 0.01, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.58) and specific cognitive-ERP impairments, such as IQ (β = −0.20, p = 0.02, 95% CI −0.40 to −0.01), preparation-vigilance measures and measures of error processin...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, Jun 6, 2015
BackgroundAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists in around two-thirds of indivi... more BackgroundAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists in around two-thirds of individuals in adolescence and early adulthood.AimsTo examine the cognitive and neurophysiological processes underlying the persistence or remission of ADHD.MethodFollow-up data were obtained from 110 young people with childhood ADHD and 169 controls on cognitive, electroencephalogram frequency, event-related potential (ERP) and actigraph movement measures after 6 years.ResultsADHD persisters differed from remitters on preparation-vigilance measures (contingent negative variation, delta activity, reaction time variability and omission errors), IQ and actigraph count, but not on executive control measures of inhibition or working memory (nogo-P3 amplitudes, commission errors and digit span backwards).ConclusionsPreparation-vigilance measures were markers of remission, improving concurrently with ADHD symptoms, whereas executive control measures were not sensitive to ADHD persistence/remission. ...
BackgroundSubstantial overlap has been reported between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ... more BackgroundSubstantial overlap has been reported between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Deficits in executive function (EF) are characteristic of both disorders but these impairments have not been compared directly across pure and co-morbid cases using event-related potentials (ERPs).MethodBehavioural parameters and ERPs were recorded during a flankered cued-continuous performance test (CPT-OX) administered to 8–13-year-old boys with ASD (n = 19), ADHD (n = 18), co-morbid ASD + ADHD (n = 29) and typically developing controls (TD; n = 26). Preparatory processing (contingent negative variation, CNV) and attentional orienting (Cue-P3) at cues, response execution at targets (Go-P3), inhibitory processing at non-targets (NoGo-P3) and conflict monitoring between target and non-target trials (Go-N2 v. NoGo-N2) were examined.ResultsCategorical diagnoses and quantitative trait measures indicated that participants with ADHD (ADHD/ASD + ADHD)...
†These authors have contributed equally to this work. Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of... more †These authors have contributed equally to this work. Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of time, is an often-overlooked yet critical context for human interaction. This study tests the relationship between the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting with the ability to attend in 102 elementary schoolchildren. Impairments in temporal processing have frequently been shown to exist in clinical populations with learning disorders, particularly those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting—an instance of the type of temporal processing necessary for successful interaction and learning—would be correlated with the ability to attend across the continuum of the population. A music class is an ideal setting for the study of interpersonal timing. In order to measure synchrony in this context, we constructed instruments that allowed the recording and measurement of individual rhythmic performance. The SWAN teacher questionnaire was used as a measurement of attentional behavior. We find that the ability to synchronize with others in a group music class can predict a child’s attentional behavior.
Synchrony—the coordinated processing of time, is a critical context for human interaction. The ab... more Synchrony—the coordinated processing of time, is a critical context for human interaction. The ability to synchronize underlies all face to face interpersonal interactions. If an individual proceeds too quickly or too slowly with respect to others, the quality of the interaction and the transfer of information are degraded. Thus, impaired or refined ability at synchrony may ultimately have a strong impact on education outcomes. Group music practice may be one of the most accessible ways to refine or enhance the ability to synchronize. Of all the world's musical cultures, that of the Balinese—featuring a variety of pitched percussion orchestras known as "gamelan"—seems to value and emphasize group synchrony most highly. Teaching this music to American elementary school children for ten years, ethnomusicologist Alexander Khalil observed that ability to synchronize in an ensemble setting—regardless of other musical abilities—seemed to correlate strongly with attentional p...
Neurophysiology allows us to understand and modulate the neural mechanisms in ADHD with high time... more Neurophysiology allows us to understand and modulate the neural mechanisms in ADHD with high time- and/or frequency-resolution. These non-invasive methods include electroencephalographic recordings at rest and during tasks, with spontaneous and event-related oscillations and potentials tracking covert processing and transcranial neuromodulation through magnetic or electric fields. The findings indicate consistent cognitive and neural deficits in ADHD related to impaired attention and deficient inhibition. Advanced signal processing and source imaging methods often converge with other imaging approaches. Neurophysiological findings also reveal considerable heterogeneity in ADHD regarding cognitive, affective, and genetic subtypes. This illustrates the importance of dimensional approaches and of pathophysiological mechanisms partly shared with other disorders. Although several potential neurophysiological markers of ADHD have been considered, a clinical use for individual diagnostics ...
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2017
Preterm birth has been associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disor... more Preterm birth has been associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like symptoms and cognitive impairments similar to those seen in ADHD, including attention and inhibitory control difficulties. Yet data on direct comparisons across ADHD and preterm birth on cognitive-neurophysiological measures are limited. We directly compared 186 preterm-born adolescents to 69 term-born adolescents with ADHD and 135 term-born controls on cognitive-performance and event-related potential measures associated with attentional and inhibitory processing from a cued continuous performance test (CPT-OX), which we have previously shown to discriminate between the adolescents with ADHD and controls. We aimed to elucidate whether the ADHD-like symptoms and cognitive impairments in preterm-born individuals reflect identical cognitive-neurophysiological impairments in term-born individuals with ADHD. Go-P3 amplitude was reduced, reflecting impaired executive response ...
BackgroundPreterm birth is associated with an increased risk for cognitive-neurophysiological imp... more BackgroundPreterm birth is associated with an increased risk for cognitive-neurophysiological impairments and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether the associations are due to the preterm birth insult per se, or due to other risk factors that characterise families with preterm-born children, is largely unknown.MethodsWe employed a within-sibling comparison design, using cognitive-performance and event-related potential (ERP) measures from 104 preterm-born adolescents and 104 of their term-born siblings. Analyses focused on ADHD symptoms and cognitive and ERP measures from a cued continuous performance test, an arrow flanker task and a reaction time task.ResultsWithin-sibling analyses showed that preterm birth was significantly associated with increased ADHD symptoms (β = 0.32, p = 0.01, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.58) and specific cognitive-ERP impairments, such as IQ (β = −0.20, p = 0.02, 95% CI −0.40 to −0.01), preparation-vigilance measures and measures of error processin...
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, Jun 6, 2015
BackgroundAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists in around two-thirds of indivi... more BackgroundAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists in around two-thirds of individuals in adolescence and early adulthood.AimsTo examine the cognitive and neurophysiological processes underlying the persistence or remission of ADHD.MethodFollow-up data were obtained from 110 young people with childhood ADHD and 169 controls on cognitive, electroencephalogram frequency, event-related potential (ERP) and actigraph movement measures after 6 years.ResultsADHD persisters differed from remitters on preparation-vigilance measures (contingent negative variation, delta activity, reaction time variability and omission errors), IQ and actigraph count, but not on executive control measures of inhibition or working memory (nogo-P3 amplitudes, commission errors and digit span backwards).ConclusionsPreparation-vigilance measures were markers of remission, improving concurrently with ADHD symptoms, whereas executive control measures were not sensitive to ADHD persistence/remission. ...
BackgroundSubstantial overlap has been reported between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ... more BackgroundSubstantial overlap has been reported between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Deficits in executive function (EF) are characteristic of both disorders but these impairments have not been compared directly across pure and co-morbid cases using event-related potentials (ERPs).MethodBehavioural parameters and ERPs were recorded during a flankered cued-continuous performance test (CPT-OX) administered to 8–13-year-old boys with ASD (n = 19), ADHD (n = 18), co-morbid ASD + ADHD (n = 29) and typically developing controls (TD; n = 26). Preparatory processing (contingent negative variation, CNV) and attentional orienting (Cue-P3) at cues, response execution at targets (Go-P3), inhibitory processing at non-targets (NoGo-P3) and conflict monitoring between target and non-target trials (Go-N2 v. NoGo-N2) were examined.ResultsCategorical diagnoses and quantitative trait measures indicated that participants with ADHD (ADHD/ASD + ADHD)...
†These authors have contributed equally to this work. Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of... more †These authors have contributed equally to this work. Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of time, is an often-overlooked yet critical context for human interaction. This study tests the relationship between the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting with the ability to attend in 102 elementary schoolchildren. Impairments in temporal processing have frequently been shown to exist in clinical populations with learning disorders, particularly those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting—an instance of the type of temporal processing necessary for successful interaction and learning—would be correlated with the ability to attend across the continuum of the population. A music class is an ideal setting for the study of interpersonal timing. In order to measure synchrony in this context, we constructed instruments that allowed the recording and measurement of individual rhythmic performance. The SWAN teacher questionnaire was used as a measurement of attentional behavior. We find that the ability to synchronize with others in a group music class can predict a child’s attentional behavior.
Synchrony—the coordinated processing of time, is a critical context for human interaction. The ab... more Synchrony—the coordinated processing of time, is a critical context for human interaction. The ability to synchronize underlies all face to face interpersonal interactions. If an individual proceeds too quickly or too slowly with respect to others, the quality of the interaction and the transfer of information are degraded. Thus, impaired or refined ability at synchrony may ultimately have a strong impact on education outcomes. Group music practice may be one of the most accessible ways to refine or enhance the ability to synchronize. Of all the world's musical cultures, that of the Balinese—featuring a variety of pitched percussion orchestras known as "gamelan"—seems to value and emphasize group synchrony most highly. Teaching this music to American elementary school children for ten years, ethnomusicologist Alexander Khalil observed that ability to synchronize in an ensemble setting—regardless of other musical abilities—seemed to correlate strongly with attentional p...
Neurophysiology allows us to understand and modulate the neural mechanisms in ADHD with high time... more Neurophysiology allows us to understand and modulate the neural mechanisms in ADHD with high time- and/or frequency-resolution. These non-invasive methods include electroencephalographic recordings at rest and during tasks, with spontaneous and event-related oscillations and potentials tracking covert processing and transcranial neuromodulation through magnetic or electric fields. The findings indicate consistent cognitive and neural deficits in ADHD related to impaired attention and deficient inhibition. Advanced signal processing and source imaging methods often converge with other imaging approaches. Neurophysiological findings also reveal considerable heterogeneity in ADHD regarding cognitive, affective, and genetic subtypes. This illustrates the importance of dimensional approaches and of pathophysiological mechanisms partly shared with other disorders. Although several potential neurophysiological markers of ADHD have been considered, a clinical use for individual diagnostics ...
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2017
Preterm birth has been associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disor... more Preterm birth has been associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like symptoms and cognitive impairments similar to those seen in ADHD, including attention and inhibitory control difficulties. Yet data on direct comparisons across ADHD and preterm birth on cognitive-neurophysiological measures are limited. We directly compared 186 preterm-born adolescents to 69 term-born adolescents with ADHD and 135 term-born controls on cognitive-performance and event-related potential measures associated with attentional and inhibitory processing from a cued continuous performance test (CPT-OX), which we have previously shown to discriminate between the adolescents with ADHD and controls. We aimed to elucidate whether the ADHD-like symptoms and cognitive impairments in preterm-born individuals reflect identical cognitive-neurophysiological impairments in term-born individuals with ADHD. Go-P3 amplitude was reduced, reflecting impaired executive response ...
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Papers by Grainne McLoughlin