Abstract
This study investigated the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on inhibitory control in hyperactive children. A double-blind, placebo-control, withinsubject (crossover) design was used in which 12 children, between 6 and 11 years of age, were each tested four times in each drug condition: 0.3 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg of methylphenidate, and placebo. Dependent measures included (a) the probability of inhibiting responses to a primary choice reaction time task given a stop signal, on the Stopping Task, and (b) response latency and errors on the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT). MPH improved the efficiency of the central inhibitory mechanism by speeding the inhibitory process, thereby affording the children greater control over their actions and enabling them to increase the probability with which they inhibited responses given a stop signal. MPH increased response latency but did not reduce errors on the MFFT, and observation of the children's task performance highlighted the interpretive problems associated with this task. Performance on both tasks was better at a dosage of 1.0 mg/kg than at 0.3 mg/kg.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatrie Association. (1980).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Ault, R. L., Crawford, D. E., & Jeffrey, W. E. (1972). Visual scanning strategies of reflective, impulsive, fast-accurate, and slow-accurate children on the Matching Familiar Figures Test.Child Development, 43, 1412–1417.
Block, J., Gjerde, P. F., & Block, J. H. (1986). More misgivings about the Matching Familiar Figures Test as a measure of reflection-impulsivity: Absence of construct validity in preadolescence.Developmental Psychology, 22, 820–831.
Brown, R. T., & Sleator, E. K. (1979). Methylphenidate in hyperkinetic children: Differences in dose effects on impulsive behavior.Pediatrics, 64, 408–411.
Brown, R. T., Slimmer, L. W., & Wynne, M. W. (1984). How much stimulant medication is appropriate for hyperactive children?Journal of School Health, 54, 128–130.
Conners, C. K. (1973). Rating scales for use in drug studies in children.Psychopharmacology Bulletin, Special Issue-Pharmacotherapy in Children, 24–84.
Coons, H. W., Klorman, R., & Borgstedt, A. D. (1987). Effects of methylphenidate on adolescents with a childhood history of attention deficit disorder: II Information processing.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26, 363–367.
Douglas, V. I. (1984). The psychological processes implicated in ADD. In L. M. Bloomingdale (Ed.),Attention deficit disorder: Diagnostic, cognitive, and therapeutic understanding (pp. 147–162). Jamaica, NY Spectrum.
Douglas, V. I., Barr, R. G., Amin, K., O'Neill, M. E., & Britton, B. G. (1988). Dosage effects and individual responsivity to methylphenidate in attention deficit disorder.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 453–475.
Goyette, C. H., Conners, C. K., & Ulrich, R. F. (1978). Normative data on revised Conners parent and teacher rating scales.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 6, 221–236.
Gualtieri, C. T., Wargin, W., Kanoy, R., Patrick, K., Shew, C. D., Youngblood, W., Mueller, R. A., & Breese, G. (1982). Clinical studies of methylphenidate serum levels in children and adults peak levels 1–2 hours post ingestion.Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 21, 19–26.
Jastak, S., & Wilkinson, G. S. (1984).Manual for the Wide Range Achievement Test (revised). Wilmington, DE: Jastak.
Kagan, J., Rosman, B., Day, D., Albert, J., & Phillips, W. (1964). Information processing in the child: Significance of analytic and reflective attitudes.Psychological Monographs,78 (1. No. 578).
Kahneman, D. (1973).Attention and effort. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Keppel, G. (1982).Design and analysis (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Lambert, N. M., & Sandoval, J. (1980). The prevalence of learning disabilities in a sample of children considered hyperactive.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 8, 33–50.
Logan G. D. (1981). Attention, automaticity and the ability to stop a speeded choice response.Attention and Performance, 9, 205–222.
Logan, G. D. (1985). Executive control of thought and action.Acta Psychological, 60, 193–210.
Logan, G. D., & Cowan, W. B. (1984). On the ability to inhibit thought and action: A theory of an act of control.Psychological Review, 91, 295–327.
Logan, G. D., Cowan, W. B., & Davis, K. A. (1984). On the ability to inhibit simple and choice reaction time responses: A model and a method.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10, 276–291.
Luce, R. D. (1986).Response times. New York: Oxford University Press.
Messer, S. B. (1976). Reflection-impulsivity: A review.Psychological Bulletin, 83, 1026–1052.
Milich, R., & Kramer, J. (1984). Reflections on impulsivity: An empirical investigation of impulsivity as a construct.Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, 3, 57–94.
Pelham, W. E., Atkins, M., & Murphy, H. A. (1981, September). ADD with and without hyperactivity: Parent, teacher, and peer rating correlates. In W. E. Pelham (Chair),DSM-III Category of Attention Deficit Disorder: Rationale, operation, and correlates. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles.
Peloquin, L. J., & Klorman, R. (1986). Effects of methylphenidate on normal children's mood, event-related potentials, and performance in memory scanning and vigilance.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 88–98.
Rapoport, J., Buchsbaum, M., Zahn, T., Weingartner, H., Ludlow, C., & Mikkelsen, E. (1978). Dextroamphetamine: Cognitive and behavioral effects in normal prepubertal boys.Science, 199, 560–563.
Rapport, M. D., Stoner, G., DuPaul, G. J., Kelly, K. L., Tucker, S. B., & Schoeler, T. (1988). Attention deficit disorder and methylphenidate: A multilevel analysis of dose-response effects on children's impulsivity accross settings.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 1:60–69.
Rovet, J. (1980). A parametric measure of reflection-impulsivity.Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 1, 221–225.
Rutter, M., & Graham, P. (1968). The reliability and validity of the psychiatric assessment of the child: I. Interview with the child.British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 563–579.
Rutter, M., Tizard, J., & Whitmore, K. (1970).Education, health and behavior: Psychological and medical study of childhood development. New York, Wiley.
Schachar, R., & Logan, G. (1988).Impulsivity and inhibitory control in normal development and childhood psychopathology. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Schachar, R., Rutter, M., & Smith, A. (1981). The characteristics of situationally and pervasively hyperactive children: Implications for syndrome definition.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22, 375–392.
Schachar, R., & Wachsmuth, R. (1984).The parent interview for child symptoms. Unpublished manuscript, Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Psychiatry.
Siegel, L. S., & Heaven, R. K. (1986). Categorization of learning disabilities. In S. J. Ceci (Ed.),Handbook of cognitive, social, neurological aspects of learning disabilities (Vol. 1, pp. 95–121). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Solanto, M., & Conners, C. (1982). A dose-response and time-action analysis of autonomic and behavioral effects of methylphenidate in attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.Psychophysiology, 19, 658–667.
Swanson, J., Kinsbourne, M., Roberts, W., & Zucker, K. (1978). Time-response analysis of the effects of stimulant medication on the learning ability of children referred for hyperactivity.Pediatrics, 61, 21–29.
Winer, B. J. (1971).Statistical procedures in experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Yando, R. M., & Kagan, J. (1970). The effect of task complexity on reflection-impulsivity.Cognitive Psychology, 1, 192–200.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was jointly funded by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (Grant No. 963-86/88) and Health and Welfare Canada (NHRDP: Grant No. 6606-3166-42). We wish to thank Patricia Fulford and Haroldine Phair for their assistance in data collection, the children and parents who participated in this study, the referring physicians, and the pharmacy department at the Hospital for Sick Children for preparation of prescriptions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tannock, R., Schachar, R.J., Carr, R.P. et al. Effects of methylphenidate on inhibitory control in hyperactive children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 17, 473–491 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00916508
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00916508