Sleep-like slow waves during wakefulness in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballrooms

Chunnian zeng^1,2,3, Michael barham¹, Caroline witton^2,3, Johanna zumer^2,3, Tim silk¹; ¹Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, ²Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK, ³Department of Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

Introduction: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), characterised by inattention and hyperactivity, is associated with altered neural activity. Recent research has shown that high-amplitude slow waves (SWs), typically associated with sleep, can also occur during wakefulness and predict inattention in neurotypical individuals. However, their role in ADHD remains unclear. This study examines differences in the number of sleep-like SWs between children with ADHD and neurotypical (NT) peers using resting-state EEG. Methods: Using a subset of the Healthy Brain Network, data included 83 children aged 5–18: 41 ADHD (9 female) and 42 neurotypical (9 female). SWs were detected using established algorithms (Andrillon et al., 2021). Average slow wave density (SW/min) was measured across 6 electrodes (F3, F4, C3, C4, P3, P4). One-way ANCOVA compared the density between ADHD and NT groups, and differences between frontal (F3, F4) and parietal electrodes (P3, P4), controlling for age and sex. Associations with ADHD hyperactive and inattentive traits (Conners 3-Self-Report) were examined using regression. Results: SW density was higher in NT than the ADHD group (F(1,171) = 10.25, p = .002) and higher in females than in males (F(1,171) = 7.65, p = .006). Parietal regions demonstrated higher SW density than frontal regions (F(1,343) = 8.82, p = .003). SW density was negatively associated with Connors-3 inattention (p = .020). Conclusion: Contrary to hypotheses, preliminary findings indicated that NT exhibited more SWs at rest compared to the ADHD, and SW density predicted better attention. Replicating these preliminary results with a larger sample and more electrodes is warranted.

Topic Area: METHODS: Neuroimaging