An investigation of autonomic arousal and attentional mechanisms in children with ADHD and Autism
Year: 2020
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The present doctoral project was aimed at investigating the impact of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on measures of physiological arousal, alerting/vigilance, attention orienting and executive functions. 106 children between 7 and 15 years of age (31 typically developing; 24 ADHD-only; 18 ASD-only; 33 ADHD&ASD) performed a battery of eye-tracking and EEG experimental paradigms, while parent-reported measures were used to evaluate the severity of symptoms of ASD, ADHD and other psychiatric conditions. Children with clinical diagnoses of ADHD and ASD showed condition-specific signs of dysregulated physiological arousal and vigilance, with ADHD more likely to be associated with difficulties in up-regulating and maintaining an optimal level of vigilance to the environment, and ASD more associated with over-reactivity to sensory information and difficulties in down-regulating autonomic arousal in line with contextual demands. We also demonstrated that executive function and cognitive control mechanisms are likely to be less effective in children with comorbid ADHD+ASD, with negative effects on performance accuracy. In the discussion of this dissertation, some suggestions for clinical practice and future research studies, besides a description of the implications of the findings on the everyday life of people with ADHD and/or ASD, are provided.
Author: Alessio Bellato
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3091914348