CPT and ADD/ADHD: Research Review
Nigg, 2016
Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prominent symptom complexes of deficient impulse and attention control.
Nigg, 2016
ADHD is characterized by signs of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. The causes of ADHD is not simple - and can be due to genetics, exposure to environmental toxins and psychosocial influences.
Hall et al., 2016
Traditionally, ADHD was assessed and diagnosed by certified clinicians through observations and gathering of information from parents, teachers and the patients themselves about their patients history and behavior. But this type of diagnostic approach can be subjected to bias.
Ogundele, Ayyash,&Banerjee, 2011
Continuous performance test (CPT) is developed to objectively, reliably and consistently assess attention and impulse control.
Rosvold, Mirsky, Sarason, Bransome, &Beck, 1956
The CPT can supplement clinicians' interview and observations to enhance accurate assessment of ADHD. The CPT have multiple formats, but all share the same features where a stimuli (visual or auditory) is presented to the patient to distinguish target from non-target.
Hall et al., 2016
Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA®) is one form of CPT that is simple to administer, easy to grasp by children and it is a language neutral test that only requires the ability to distinguish up and down, target, non- target test. Thus, this does not confound learning disabilities and problems with distinguishing left and right.
Greenberg & Waldmant,1993; Hall et al., 2016
CPT can provide objective, reliable information and as well as make a contribution to the assessment of inattention and impulsivity problems.
Wu et al., 2007
CPT can also differentiate between ADHD , normal and psychiatric disorders.
Advocate, Martino, Hill & Gouvier, 2007
In a study, CPT was able to identify ADHD with 80% ; the test can make a meaningful contribution to the assessment of children with symptoms of the suggestive attention deficit disorder.
Forbes, 1998
It was also demonstrated that CPT is a valuable tool in monitoring and tracking progress of ADHD patients during therapy.
Hall et al., 2016
Another advantage of CPT is, as it is computerized, it can be coupled with EEG to provide detailed information.
Arns, de Ridder, Strehl, Breteler, & Coenen,2009
It can be incorporated into virtual reality to provide realistic simulations to improve the diagnostic ability of CPT.
Rodríguez,Areces, García, Cueli, & González-Castro, 2018
References:
Advokat, C., Martino, L., Hill, B. D., & Gouvier, W. (2007). Continuous PerformanceTest (CPT) of College Students With ADHD, Psychiatric Disorders, Cognitive
Deficits, or No Diagnosis. Journal of Attention Disorders, 10(3), 253–256.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054706292106
neurofeedback treatment in adhd: the effects on inattention, impulsivity and
hyperactivity: a meta-analysis. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 40(3),
180–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/155005940904000311
diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Clinical
Psychology, 54(4), 461–476. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-
4679(199806)54:4<461::AID-JCLP8>3.0.CO;2-Q
test of variables of attention(T. O. V. A. TM ). Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 34(6), 1019–1030. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-
7610.1993.tb01105.x
Hollis, C. (2016). The clinical utility of the continuous performance test and
objective measures of activity for diagnosing and monitoring ADHD in
children: a systematic review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 25(7),
677–699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-015-0798-x
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125556.devpsy314
Ogundele, M. O., Ayyash, H. F., & Banerjee, S. (2011). Role of computerised
continuous performance task tests in ADHD. Progress in Neurology and
Psychiatry, 15(3), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/pnp.198
Comparison between two continuous performance tests for identifying ADHD:
Traditional vs. virtual reality. International Journal of Clinical and Health
Psychology, 18(3), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2018.06.003
Rosvold, H. E., Mirsky, A. F., Sarason, I., Bransome, E. D., Jr., & Beck, L. H. (1956).
Psychology, 20(5), 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043220
Wu, Y.-Y., Huang, Y.-S., Chen, Y.-Y., Chen, C.-K., Chang, T.-C., & Chao, C.-C.
(2007). Psychometric study of the test of variables of attention: Preliminary
findings on Taiwanese children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 61(3), 211–218.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2007.01658.x