Clinical foundations of hyperactivity research
Section snippets
Psychopathology of hyperactivity
The psychopathology of hyperactivity has been described by many clinicians. It is generally thought to consist of the behavioural problems of inattentiveness, overactivity and impulsiveness. This clinical category is the starting point for research in developmental psychopathology and experimental analysis of attention deficit.
This description of the psychopathology has been repeated so often that it can sometimes be accepted uncritically. In fact, it is somewhat problematic. Efforts to base
Historical issues
Schachar [25]has described the very early history of thinking about hyperactivity. The concepts of social Darwinism were still potent: much psychopathology was seen as the regression to or persistence of a primitive and savage-like state; in which the reason failed sufficiently to control atavistic impulses. Still’s [31]phrase, ‘disorders of moral control’, embodied this kind of thinking. Indeed, the current idea still retains something of the notion that impulsiveness represents a biological
Inattentiveness
The terminology of attention deficit disorder is a little confusing. ADHD, the disorder, has two main subtypes in DSM-IV. The first is inattentiveness and the second is overactivity-impulsivity. It is, therefore, possible to have ADHD without being inattentive. In the ICD-10 terminology, inattentiveness is a necessary requirement for the diagnosis, but the disorder is called hyperkinetic disorder. Another confusion, therefore, arises; inattentiveness is necessary for the diagnosis of
Subtyping of problems of activity and attention
The argument so far has been for a need to distinguish separable components of inattentive behaviour (which can be further subdivided at the cognitive level), excess activity and impulsiveness. This is already a considerable deconstruction of ADHD. However, this does not end the need for discrimination that is raised by clinical analyses of psychopathology. Other important sources of heterogeneity need to be recognised.
Developmental aspects of psychopathology
So far the behavioural problems that comprise hyperactivity have been considered as though they were constant throughout development. This may well not be the case. It is far from clear, for instance, that inattentiveness at the age of 3 will have the same significance as that at the age of 17. This leads on to the need for several different kinds of enquiry. Firstly, what is the continuity or discontinuity between different stages of development? It is evident that there is some; longitudinal
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Review of rodent models of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
2022, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Since ADHD is a developmental disorder, a good model should have a developmental onset (Willner, 1986). Impulsivity is a prominent ADHD symptom (Taylor, 1998; Johansen et al., 2002) that is seen on tasks requiring timed responses, usually delayed responses. Rodents with this characteristic perform poorly on schedules of reinforcement because the impulsivity interferes with waiting before a rewarded response becomes available.
A behavioral economic theory of cue-induced attention- and task-switching with implications for neurodiversity
2021, Journal of Economic PsychologyCitation Excerpt :Meanwhile, individuals with ADHD tend to switch activities more often than their peers. In children, this tendency is commonly equated to hyperactivity, as evident by a high rate of “task shifts” — whether between academic tasks or between different toys presented by an examiner — with frequent “terminations of sitting” during activities that involve sitting, as well as a high propensity to move from one “station” to another in free play settings (see, in particular, Roberts, Ray, & Roberts, 1984, Dienske et al., 1985, and Taylor, 1998). As with their atypical attention-switching propensities, these atypical propensities to switch “tasks” (broadly speaking) seem to generalize to several domains.
Objective measurement of weekly physical activity and sensory modulation problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
2013, Research in Developmental DisabilitiesCitation Excerpt :Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder with high prevalence worldwide, 3–10% (Graetz, Sawyer, Hazell, Arney, & Baghurst, 2001; Wolraich, Hannah, Pinnock, Baumgaertel, & Brown, 1996), and around 50% of referrals to pediatric psychiatric clinics are for the assessment and treatment of ADHD (McGee, Clark, & Symons, 2000). One of its core symptoms, hyperactivity (American Psychological Association, 2000), often causes substantial disturbances for children with ADHD and for their parents (Barkley, 1998; Lin & Chung, 2002; Taylor, 1998). For example, hyperactivity may cause children with ADHD to run in a class that requires sitting quietly, and may interrupt their learning, result in rejection by their peers, and increase pressure for their parents (Lin & Chung, 2002).