| Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are hypothesized to be abnormally sensitive for reinforcement contingencies such as reward and response cost (punishment). Some researchers suggest this to be the core problem in ADHD, responsible for attention problems, impulsivity and hyperactivity (e.g., Haenlein and Caul 1987, Quay, 1996). One of the brain system that is suggested to be involved in this aberrant sensitivity to reinforcement is the meso-limbic system (e.g. the amygdala and nucleus accumbens). In this project we will study the effect of reward and punishment onto cognitive functioning in children with ADHD with or without comorbid Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder. Children perform different cognitive tasks in face of feedback only, in face of reward and in face of response cost. Heart rate and skin conductance responses are measured in order to get more insight into the underlying psycho-physiological responses. These measures are found to reflect changes in the nervous system at time of feedback processing and in face of arousing stimuli such as reinforcement. |
