Speaker
Description
It is widely understood from empirical studies and anecdotal experiences that Individuals with ADHD are highly distractible by external stimuli, such as noises and visual stimuli. However, the underlying behavioral mechanisms behind this susceptibility warrant further exploration.
How might diagnostic status (Healthy Control vs. ADHD) impact responses to irrelevant, conflicting stimuli ? Do adults with ADHD perform worse (based on accuracy and response time) due to slower goal-directed processing or faster habitual processing ? Research shows ADHD medications (e.g., Vyvanse, Strattera) appear to improve attention and productivity. Is this improvement due to a speeding up of goal-directed processing or a slowing down of habitual processing in medicated ADHD patients? We aim to answer these questions using the novel forced-response paradigm in two conflict tasks (Flanker and Simon tasks). We will computationally model participant behavior based on preparation time and accuracy. We are recruiting adults with ADHD who regularly take medication. Using a cross-over design, participants will complete tasks once on medication and once unmedicated, with counterbalanced task and medication order. Healthy control participants will also complete the conflict tasks. Preliminary results suggest unmedicated ADHD speeds up habitual processing compared to both healthy controls and medicated ADHD participants. Additionally, medicated ADHD appears to speed up goal-directed processing compared to unmedicated ADHD.
