Behavioral and neural correlates of facial versus nonfacial stimuli processing in adults with ADHD: An ERP study.

OBJECTIVE

The present study was aimed at identifying behavioral and neural correlates of face processing in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs).

METHOD

Behavioral and ERP responses were examined using a 4-stimulus visual oddball task, combining facial and nonfacial stimuli. Responses to target and nontarget stimuli were compared across groups of young adults with ADHD and comparison subjects.

RESULTS

Participants with ADHD had poorer performance than controls on all indices of the oddball task. Higher rates of omissions and slower reaction times (RTs) of ADHD participants compared with controls had been found only in response to face targets but not in response to nonfacial targets. ERP results indicated that ADHD significantly interacted with the type of target stimuli. Participants with ADHD, compared with controls, showed a pronounced reduction in P3 and N3 amplitudes in response to face targets but not in response to nonfacial targets.

CONCLUSIONS

The current results provide indication of modulation of face processing in adults with ADHD. ERP alterations, reflected in abnormally reduced P3 and N3 to face targets, may suggest ADHD-related abnormal recruitment of neural resources to process face stimuli. Behavioral and brain function measures of face processing may provide valuable additional tools for use in clinical assessment of ADHD in adulthood.