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ERIC Number: EJ696053
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Mar-1
Pages: 9
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0890-8567
EISSN: N/A
Methylphenidate Improves Visual-Spatial Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit- hyperactivity Disorder
Bedard, Anne-Claude; Martinussen, Rhonda; Ickowicz, Abel; Tannock, Rosemary
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, v43 n3 p260 Mar 2004
Objective: To investigate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on visual-spatial memory, as measured by subtests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB), in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Visual-spatial memory is a core component of working memory that has been shown to be impaired in ADHD, irrespective of comorbid reading and/or language problems. Method: A clinic-referred sample of school-age children with a confirmed DSM-IV diagnosis of ADHD (n = 26) completed tests of visual-spatial memory, planning ability, and recognition memory in an acute, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial with three single fixed doses of MPH. MPH effects on right-handed and left-handed motor control were also assessed. Results: MPH significantly improved performance on a self-ordered, updating visual-spatial working memory task and on maintenance of visual-spatial information but had no effects on measures of visual-spatial planning ability or recognition memory. Also, MPH significantly improved left-handed motor control. Conclusions: Beneficial effects of MPH on visual-spatial processing in ADHD are selective and restricted to visual-spatial memory.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, P.O. Box 1620, Hagerstown, MD 21741. Tel: 800-638-3030 (Toll Free); Fax: 301-223-2400.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Cambridge)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A