Cognitive Functioning in Long-Term Benzodiazepine Users.

Background: Benzodiazepines are widely used in the treatment of anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances, but negative cognitive side effects have been reported after long-term use. Studies on the cognitive effects of long-term benzodiazepine use to date have typically included small samples and limited cognitive assessments.

Objectives: This study examined cognitive performance on four cognitive domains in long-term benzodiazepine users, compared to normative data.

Differences in functional brain organization during gesture recognition between autistic and neurotypical individuals.

Persons with and without autism process sensory information differently. Differences in sensory processing are directly relevant to social functioning and communicative abilities, which are known to be hampered in persons with autism. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 25 autistic individuals and 25 neurotypical individuals while they performed a silent gesture recognition task.

Differences in the production and perception of communicative kinematics in autism.

In human communication, social intentions and meaning are often revealed in the way we move. In this study, we investigate the flexibility of human communication in terms of kinematic modulation in a clinical population, namely, autistic individuals. The aim of this study was twofold: to assess (a) whether communicatively relevant kinematic features of gestures differ between autistic and neurotypical individuals, and (b) if autistic individuals use communicative kinematic modulation to support gesture recognition.

Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of a Dutch Version of the Actions and Feelings Questionnaire in Autistic and Neurotypical Adults.

The actions and feelings questionnaire (AFQ) provides a short, self-report measure of how well someone uses and understands visual communicative signals such as gestures. The objective of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the AFQ into Dutch (AFQ-NL) and validate this new version in neurotypical and autistic populations. Translation and adaptation of the AFQ consisted of forward translation, synthesis, back translation, and expert review.

Is a Negative Attentional Bias in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Explained by Comorbid Depression? An Eye-Tracking Study.

Heightened attention towards negative information is characteristic of depression. Evidence is emerging for a negative attentional bias in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), perhaps driven by the high comorbidity between ASD and depression. We investigated whether ASD is characterised by a negative attentional bias and whether this can be explained by comorbid (sub) clinical depression.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy v. treatment as usual in adults with ADHD: a multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Background: There is a high need for evidence-based psychosocial treatments for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to offer alongside treatment as usual (TAU). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a promising psychosocial treatment. This trial investigated the efficacy of MBCT + TAU v.

High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults: Consequences for Primary Caregivers Compared to Schizophrenia and Depression.

Primary caregivers experience consequences from being in close contact to a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study used the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire to explore the level of consequences of 104 caregivers involved with adults with High Functioning ASD (HF-ASD) and compared these with the consequences reported by caregivers of patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia. Caregivers involved with adults with an HF-ASD experience overall consequences comparable to those involved with patients with depression or schizophrenia.

Five factor model personality traits relate to adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder but not to their distinct neurocognitive profiles.

Deficits in multiple neuropsychological domains and specific personality profiles have been observed in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study we investigated whether personality traits are related to neurocognitive profiles in adults with ADHD. Neuropsychological performance and Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits were measured in adults with ADHD (n = 133) and healthy controls (n = 132).

fMRI Neurofeedback Training for Increasing Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activation in Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. An Exploratory Randomized, Single-Blinded Study.

Unlabelled: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by poor cognitive control/attention and hypofunctioning of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). In the current study, we investigated for the first time whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI) training targeted at increasing activation levels within dACC in adults with ADHD leads to a reduction of clinical symptoms and improved cognitive functioning. An exploratory randomized controlled treatment study with blinding of the participants was conducted.

Relationships Between Functional Outcomes and Symptomatic Improvement in Atomoxetine-Treated Adult Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Post Hoc Analysis of an Integrated Database.

Background: Atomoxetine treatment is associated with improvements in functional outcomes in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although relationships between improvements in these outcomes and reductions in ADHD symptoms have not been comprehensively investigated in adults.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess relationships between functional outcomes and ADHD symptoms (primary objective), and to assess time courses of changes in functional outcomes from baseline to weeks 10 and 24 (secondary objective).

Methods: We analyzed data pooled from seven Eli Lilly-sponsored placebo-controlled trials of atomoxetine in adults with ADHD that had Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Investigator Rated: Screening Version (CAARS-Inv:SV) total scores and functional outcome data at baseline and at week 10.

Enlarged striatal volume in adults with ADHD carrying the 9-6 haplotype of the dopamine transporter gene DAT1.

The dopamine transporter gene, DAT1 (SLC6A3), has been studied extensively as a candidate gene for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Different alleles of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) in this gene have been associated with childhood ADHD (10/10 genotype and haplotype 10-6) and adult ADHD (haplotype 9-6). This suggests a differential association depending on age, and a role of DAT1 in modulating the ADHD phenotype over the lifespan.

Characterising resting-state functional connectivity in a large sample of adults with ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood psychiatric disorder that often persists into adulthood. While several studies have identified altered functional connectivity in brain networks during rest in children with ADHD, few studies have been performed on adults with ADHD. Existing studies have generally investigated small samples.

The Efficacy of Adapted MBCT on Core Symptoms and Executive Functioning in Adults With ADHD: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness as a treatment for adults diagnosed with ADHD. A 12-week-adapted mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) program is compared with a waiting list (WL) group.

Method: Adults with ADHD were randomly allocated to MBCT ( n = 55) or waitlist ( n = 48).

Similar Subgroups Based on Cognitive Performance Parse Heterogeneity in Adults With ADHD and Healthy Controls.

Objective: To characterize heterogeneity in adults with ADHD we aimed to identify subgroups within the adult ADHD spectrum, which differ in their cognitive profile.

Method: Neuropsychological data from adults with ADHD ( n = 133) and healthy control participants ( n = 132) were used in a confirmatory factor analysis. The resulting six cognitive factors were correlated across participants to form networks.

Mindfulness based cognitive therapy versus treatment as usual in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Background: Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often present with a lifelong pattern of core symptoms that is associated with impairments of functioning in daily life. This has a substantial personal and economic impact. In clinical practice there is a high need for additional or alternative interventions for existing treatments, usually consisting of pharmacotherapy and/or psycho-education.

Cognitive heterogeneity in adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic analysis of neuropsychological measurements.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in childhood is associated with impaired functioning in multiple cognitive domains: executive functioning (EF), reward and timing. Similar impairments have been described for adults with persistent ADHD, but an extensive investigation of neuropsychological functioning in a large sample of adult patients is currently lacking. We systematically examined neuropsychological performance on tasks measuring EF, delay discounting, time estimation and response variability using univariate ANCOVA's comparing patients with persistent ADHD (N=133, 42% male, mean age 36) and healthy adults (N=132, 40% male, mean age 36).

Lower white matter microstructure in the superior longitudinal fasciculus is associated with increased response time variability in adults with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

Background: Response time variability (RTV) is consistently increased in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A right-hemispheric frontoparietal attention network model has been implicated in these patients. The 3 main connecting fibre tracts in this network, the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and the cingulum bundle (CB), show microstructural abnormalities in patients with ADHD.

Deviant white matter structure in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder points to aberrant myelination and affects neuropsychological performance.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood is characterized by gray and white matter abnormalities in several brain areas. Considerably less is known about white matter microstructure in adults with ADHD and its relation with clinical symptoms and cognitive performance. In 107 adult ADHD patients and 109 gender-, age- and IQ-matched controls, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to investigate whole-skeleton changes of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean, axial, and radial diffusivity (MD, AD, RD).

Reward modulation of cognitive function in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a pilot study on the role of striatal dopamine.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is accompanied by impairments in cognitive control, such as task-switching deficits. We investigated whether such problems, and their remediation by medication, reflect abnormal reward motivation and associated striatal dopamine transmission in ADHD. We used functional genetic neuroimaging to assess the effects of dopaminergic medication and reward motivation on task-switching and striatal BOLD signal in 23 adults with ADHD, ON and OFF methylphenidate, and 26 healthy controls.

Case-control genome-wide association study of persistent attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder identifies FBXO33 as a novel susceptibility gene for the disorder.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with high heritability. At least 30% of patients diagnosed in childhood continue to suffer from ADHD during adulthood and genetic risk factors may play an essential role in the persistence of the disorder throughout lifespan. To date, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of ADHD have been completed in seven independent datasets, six of which were pediatric samples and one on persistent ADHD using a DNA-pooling strategy, but none of them reported genome-wide significant associations.

Processing of emotion words by patients with autism spectrum disorders: evidence from reaction times and EEG.

This study investigated processing of emotion words in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) using reaction times and event-related potentials (ERP). Adults with (n = 21) and without (n = 20) ASD performed a lexical decision task on emotion and neutral words while their brain activity was recorded. Both groups showed faster responses to emotion words compared to neutral, suggesting intact early processing of emotion in ASD.

Do cognitive measures of response inhibition differentiate between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and borderline personality disorder?

This study examined whether cognitive measures of response inhibition derived from the AX-CPT are able to differentiate between adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and healthy controls (HC). Current DSM-IV-TR symptoms of ADHD and BPD were assessed by structured diagnostic interviews, and parent developmental interviews were used to assess childhood ADHD symptoms. Patients (14 ADHD, 12 BPD, 7 ADHD and BPD, and 37 HC) performed the AX-CPT.

Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on neurophysiological correlates of performance monitoring in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Objective: To examine whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) would enhance attenuated amplitudes of event-related potentials (ERPs) indexing performance monitoring biomarkers of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: Fifty adult ADHD patients took part in a randomised controlled study investigating ERP and clinical measures pre-to-post MBCT. Twenty-six patients were randomly allocated to MBCT, 24 to a wait-list control.

Brain alterations in adult ADHD: effects of gender, treatment and comorbid depression.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have smaller volumes of total brain matter and subcortical regions, but it is unclear whether these represent delayed maturation or persist into adulthood. We performed a structural MRI study in 119 adult ADHD patients and 107 controls and investigated total gray and white matter and volumes of accumbens, caudate, globus pallidus, putamen, thalamus, amygdala and hippocampus. Additionally, we investigated effects of gender, stimulant treatment and history of major depression (MDD).