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.
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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.
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00916508