Authors:

Cornish, K., Hollis, C., DOBLER, V., MANLY, T., Grant, C., Kay, C

Reference:

Year of publication:

2002

CBU number:

6109

Abstract:

Individuals with ADHD exhibit a constellation of symptoms, including impairment in inhibition, selective and sustained attention and working memory. One hypothesis is that ADHD is related to front-striatal and right hemisphere dysfunction. Indeed, if the syndrome is characterised by such dysfunction then one would expect to see differences in lateralization in those with combined inattention.hyperactivity from those within other dimensions of the ADHD continuum. In the present study, we assessed 126 primary school children in Nottinghamshire, UK who presented at the extreme ends ('good scorers' and 'poor scorers') on the continuum of behaviors as measured b the SWAN rating scale. Performance on a range of laterality measures was examined, including hand preference, hand skill and spatial attention (the line-bisection task and the star cancellation task). The findings suggest a deficit in spatial attention alongside anomalous handedness consistent with the picture of a lateralisated dysfunction of the fronto-striatal and right hemisphere circuitry in ADHD.