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Adverse effects of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to heavy maternal cigarette smoking in pregnancy and severe maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy appear to be important risk factors for the development of ADHD. This study aimed to determine whether these perinatal risk factors were associated with neuropsychological deficits commonly seen in ADHD.We examined the effect of these two risk factors on measures of attentional control, motor inhibition, visual-motor integration, and fine motor coordination in a group of 81 children with ADHD, aged from 8 to 18 years. The neuropsychological battery included the Connors' Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test, the Beery Visual-Motor Integration Test, and the Purdue Pegboard Test.Heavy maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with slower reaction times (p < .002), and reaction time variability (p < .007) on the CPT.This study suggests a persistent negative effect of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD. Future studies should examine the neurobiological basis and determine the degree to which inherited genetic susceptibility factors contribute to this finding.

SUBMITTER: Motlagh MG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3974616 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Adverse effects of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD.

Motlagh Maria G MG Sukhodolsky Denis G DG Landeros-Weisenberger Angeli A Katsovich Liliya L Thompson Nancy N Scahill Lawrence L King Robert A RA Peterson Bradley S BS Schultz Robert T RT Leckman James F JF

Journal of attention disorders 20100708 7

<h4>Objective</h4>Exposure to heavy maternal cigarette smoking in pregnancy and severe maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy appear to be important risk factors for the development of ADHD. This study aimed to determine whether these perinatal risk factors were associated with neuropsychological deficits commonly seen in ADHD.<h4>Method</h4>We examined the effect of these two risk factors on measures of attentional control, motor inhibition, visual-motor integration, and fine motor coord ...[more]

PMID: 20616372

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Project description:ObjectiveDistractions inordinately impair attention in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) but examining this behavior under real-life conditions poses a challenge for researchers and clinicians. Virtual reality (VR) technologies may mitigate the limitations of traditional laboratory methods by providing a more ecologically relevant experience. The use of eye-tracking measures to assess attentional functioning in a VR context in ADHD is novel. In this proof of principle project, we evaluate the temporal dynamics of distraction via eye-tracking measures in a VR classroom setting with 20 children diagnosed with ADHD between 8 and 12 years of age.MethodWe recorded continuous eye movements while participants performed math, Stroop, and continuous performance test (CPT) tasks with a series of "real-world" classroom distractors presented. We analyzed the impact of the distractors on rates of on-task performance and on-task, eye-gaze (i.e., looking at a classroom whiteboard) versus off-task eye-gaze (i.e., looking away from the whiteboard).ResultsWe found that while children did not always look at distractors themselves for long periods of time, the presence of a distractor disrupted on-task gaze at task-relevant whiteboard stimuli and lowered rates of task performance. This suggests that children with attention deficits may have a hard time returning to tasks once those tasks are interrupted, even if the distractor itself does not hold attention. Eye-tracking measures within the VR context can reveal rich information about attentional disruption.ConclusionsLeveraging virtual reality technology in combination with eye-tracking measures is well-suited to advance the understanding of mechanisms underlying attentional impairment in naturalistic settings. Assessment within these immersive and well-controlled simulated environments provides new options for increasing our understanding of distractibility and its potential impact on the development of interventions for children with ADHD.

Dataset Information

Adverse effects of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD.

Publications

Adverse effects of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD.

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