Students Achievements

"Event-Related Potential Correlates of Interhemispheric Interaction in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder "

by Rebecca Von Der Heide

Neuroanatomical research studies have provided evidence of differences in brain structure that may be associated with attention-deficit disorder (ADHD). One specific structure for which deficits in size, volume and shape have been found is the corpus callosum, a structure that connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain allowing them to communicate with one another. This communication between the hemispheres can be referred to as interhemispheric interaction. Despite structural evidence from neuroanatomical research studies of ADHD- related differences of the corpus callosum, there has only been one study that has examined the impact of these structural differences on interhemispheric communication in an ADHD population. Not surprisingly, this lone study tested a group of young boys with ADHD, the most prevalent and historically researched experimental group with this disorder. While differences in interhemispheric communication were found, the ability to generalize these results is limited by the need for replication and by earlier evidence that the structure of the corpus callosum is impacted by age and gender. The goal of the present study is to look at differences in interhemispheric interaction in an experimental group comprised equally of adult male and females with ADHD. Event-related potentials, which are waveforms reflecting brain related-electrical activity in response to stimulation, will be measured and analyzed to determine whether ADHD-related deficits in brain structure found in earlier neuroanatomical studies are related to deficits in interhemispehric communication. The primary novelty of this study is that it will examine the impact of known gender and adult-related differences of the corpus callosum on interhemispheric transfer in an ADHD population.