Presentation Information
[P-9-04]Effects of Methylphenidate on the Cognitive Functions and Electroencephalographic Characteristics of Drug-Naïve Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
*Chi-Yung Shang1, Hong-Hsiang Liu2, Ming-Hsien Hsieh1, Susan Shur-Fen Gau1 (1.National Taiwan University Hospital(Taiwan), 2.Fu Jen Catholic University(Taiwan))
Keywords:
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,Methylphenidate,Electroencephalographic characteristics,Cognitive Functions
Objective: This study investigated the effects of 12-week methylphenidate treatment on the cognitive functions and electrophysiological characteristics of drug-naïve children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods: We recruited 16 drug-naïve children with ADHD and 43 healthy controls. The behavioral symptoms and cognitive functions of all the participants were measured by Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale (CGI-S), ADHD Rating Scale-IV (ADHDRS-IV), and Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Children with ADHD received treatment with methylphenidate for 12 weeks. Electroencephalographic characteristics were assessed for both the ADHD group and the control group, at the baseline and after 12 weeks.
Results: The ADHD group had significantly more behavioral symptoms on CGI-S (p < 0.001), Inattention (p < 0.001), and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity (p < 0.001) of the ADHDRS-IV than the control group at baseline. Moreover, the ADHD group had longer reaction time (RT; p=0.017) and greater standard deviation of reaction time (RTSD; p=0.004) on the CPT than the control group at baseline. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the CGI-S, Inattention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, RT, or RTSD between the two groups after 12 weeks. The electrophysiologic characteristics, including network efficiency, peak alpha frequency, and eigenvector centrality, also showed improvement in the ADHD group after 12-week treatment.
Conclusions: Our findings revealed remarkable enhancements in the cognitive functions and electrophysiologic characteristics of drug-naïve children with ADHD following a 12-week course of methylphenidate treatment. These results indicated that cognitive functions and electrophysiologic characteristics might serve as valuable biomarkers for evaluating the effects of methylphenidate in children with ADHD.
Methods: We recruited 16 drug-naïve children with ADHD and 43 healthy controls. The behavioral symptoms and cognitive functions of all the participants were measured by Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale (CGI-S), ADHD Rating Scale-IV (ADHDRS-IV), and Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Children with ADHD received treatment with methylphenidate for 12 weeks. Electroencephalographic characteristics were assessed for both the ADHD group and the control group, at the baseline and after 12 weeks.
Results: The ADHD group had significantly more behavioral symptoms on CGI-S (p < 0.001), Inattention (p < 0.001), and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity (p < 0.001) of the ADHDRS-IV than the control group at baseline. Moreover, the ADHD group had longer reaction time (RT; p=0.017) and greater standard deviation of reaction time (RTSD; p=0.004) on the CPT than the control group at baseline. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the CGI-S, Inattention, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, RT, or RTSD between the two groups after 12 weeks. The electrophysiologic characteristics, including network efficiency, peak alpha frequency, and eigenvector centrality, also showed improvement in the ADHD group after 12-week treatment.
Conclusions: Our findings revealed remarkable enhancements in the cognitive functions and electrophysiologic characteristics of drug-naïve children with ADHD following a 12-week course of methylphenidate treatment. These results indicated that cognitive functions and electrophysiologic characteristics might serve as valuable biomarkers for evaluating the effects of methylphenidate in children with ADHD.