Key Points
• Source: Scientific Reports
• Conclusion: “Combining cognitive and kinematic measures is a potential innovative method for assessment and intervention of subtle differences in executive processes such as inhibition, going deeper than is possible based on accuracy outcomes alone.”
• Small differences in planning and control play a role in impulsive behaviors, which accompany ADHD, These differences are challenging to assess. Researchers modified a Go/No-Go task and used a portable, low-cost kinematic sensor to assess the different strategies in children with ADHD vs. those with typical development to either offer a prepotent response (i.e., dominant condition) or withhold the prepotent response in lieu of alternative one (i.e., non-dominant condition).
• “Although no group difference emerged on accuracy levels, the kinematic analysis of correct responses revealed that, unlike neurotypical children, those with ADHD did not show increased motor planning in non-dominant compared to dominant trials,” the authors wrote.
• Future work should examine how motor control may assist children with ADHD in compensating for planning difficulties. “This strategy might make inhibition harder in naturalistic situations that involve complex actions,” the authors wrote.