P3b Auditory Processing Differences in Adults With and Without Self-Reported Attentional Deficits

Poster Session A - Saturday, April 13, 2024, 2:30 – 4:30 pm EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Danielle Rosengrant¹ (droseng1@ramapo.edu), Suzanne Zaugg¹, Naseem Choudhury¹; ¹Ramapo College of New Jersey

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder that is diagnosed and studied in children. ADHD often persists into adulthood but the underlying mechanisms are vastly understudied in this group. Previous research has shown that difficulties in attentional processing are linked to atypical activation of specific cortical neuronal networks. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERP), specifically the P3b, can be used to assess differences in patterns of neuronal activity underlying attention. Using an oddball paradigm with auditory stimuli under active and passive attentional conditions, we examine differences in neural activation in adults with and without ADHD. As expected, robust P3b (ca. 385-485 ms) peaks were identified in all adults in central regions, albeit these components were more right lateralized and less well defined in the ADHD group. Within the ADHD group, the presentation and processing of the target stimuli elicited a greater response than the standard stimuli (F1,9 = [6.949-15.094], p < 0.05), however responses to standard stimuli appeared later than responses to target stimuli across both conditions. The active condition also elicited a more robust response than the passive condition (F1,9 = [4.907-5.620], p < 0.05). The control group (n=24) had greater amplitudes across all conditions and stimuli when compared to individuals with ADHD. This may involve an increase in the amount of neuronal network activation involved in processing in the control group.

Topic Area: ATTENTION: Auditory