Associations between semantic priming and problem behavior in boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the semantic priming of boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder( ADHD) and explore whether the semantic priming deficits was associated with behavioral problems by event-related potential(ERP). Methods Thirty boy with and without ADHD aged from 7 to 13 years were asked to finish the semantic Semantic judgment task. The study took advantage of t-test ( independent-samples) to compare the amplitude and latency of the N400 in both groups,as well as behavioral data.Behav-ioral problems were assessed by the Achenbach child behavior checklist( CBCL) ,and Pearson correlation a-nalysis were used to explore the relationship between behavioral problems and semantic priming. Result-s Under the condition of semantic correlation,the hyperactive factor of CBCL in ADHA group was positively correlated with ERP N400 amplitude ( r=0.44,P<0.05) and negatively correlated with reaction accuracy ( r=-0.48,P<0.05).Under the semantic irrelevant condition,the latency of ERP N400 in ADHA group was pos-itively correlated with hyperactivity factor (r=0.53,P<0.05)and aggression factor of CBCL(r=0.62,P<0.05).The N400 amplitude of the ADHD group was significant higher than that in the control group under se-mantic related conditions((-11.36±4.77)μV vs (-7.66±5.24)μV,P=0.006),and the latency of the N400 in ADHD was more delay((369.6±44.09)ms vs (341.27±24.54)ms,P=0.004),and the reaction times (RT) was much longer((936.18±135.03)ms vs (857.78±103.45)ms,P=0.014).The latency of the N400 in ADHD was more delay than that in the control group under semantic irrelevant conditions ( ( 383. 93 ±29.66)ms vs (362.33±29.66)ms,P=0.012),and accuracies of ADHD group was lower than that of control group(0.43±0.39 vs 0.81±0.23,P<0.01).Conclusion The present result indicates that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit in the semantic priming mechanism,and the deficit is positively correlated with hy-peractivity and impulsiveness.