Time estimation exposure modifies cognitive aspects and cortical activity of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder adults

Abstract

Aim

This study investigated whether time-estimation task exposure influences the severity of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as theta band activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

Material and methods

Twenty-two patients with ADHD participated in a crossover experiment with a visual time-estimation task under control conditions (without exposure to time estimation tasks) and experimental (thirty days exposure to time-estimation tasks) in association with electroencephalographic analysis of theta band.

Results

ADHD patients with thirty days of time-estimation task exposure presented a worse performance of the time-estimation task, as revealed by the measurements of the absolute error and relative error (p ≤ 0.05). However, our findings show the improvement of self-reported symptoms of attention, impulsivity, and emotional control in patients after the time-estimation task exposure (p = 0.0001). Moreover, the theta band oscillations in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and in the ventrolateral prefrontal increased with thirty days of time-estimation task exposure (p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion

We propose that the decrease in EEG theta power may indicate an efficient accumulation of temporal pulses, which could be responsible for the improvement in the patient cognitive aspects as demonstrated by the current study. Time-estimation task improves ADHD cognitive symptoms, with a substantial increase in cortical areas activity related to attention and memory, suggesting its use as a tool for cognitive timing function management and non-invasive therapeutic aid in ADHD.

Keywords:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• time perception
• electroencephalography
• theta band

Disclosure statement

Authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Conception and design of the study: RMF, VM, PR, BV, and ST; Acquisition and analysis of data: RMF, VM, and ST; Drafting the manuscript and/or figures: RMF, VM, VC, KR, FM, DSG, and ST; Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: VM, VC, KR, FM, IM, PR, DSG, BV, MC, VHB, AST, and ST; Headed the behavioral and electrophysiological analysis: RMF, VM, PR, and ST.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All subjects signed the Free and Informed Consent Form. The experiment was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Piauí (No. 1.609.985) according to the Criteria of Ethics in Research with Human Subjects included in the Declaration of Helsinki.