Working Memory Development in Attention Deficit Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Attentional deficit disorder (ADD, ADHD) is a complex disorder in which attention and working memory (WM) are impaired. The central hypothesis is that WM behavioral performance would be impaired in ADD and would facilitate the classification of control and ADD subjects. One hundred and eighty-one control and 41 ADD children and adolescents (6–17 years old) were behaviorally recorded using the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C), delayed match- to-sample test (DMTS), and oddball tasks. ADD children presented a behavioral impairment in WMTB-C, DMTS, and oddball tasks. ADD obtained lower direct scores in the three subcomponents of the Baddeley’s WM model, lower d’ values, produced more errors, and presented higher variability in RTs than controls. The discriminant analysis was able to classify correctly around 70% of controls and ADD children. The results suggest that WM is a central core dysfunction in ADD and useful as a diagnostic tool.