Grant: Operating Grant

Working memory (WM) is a key cognitive function that allows individuals to hold and manipulate information in one's mind for a few seconds. It is essential for many daily tasks, like following directions, comprehending what you are reading, complex reasoning, and staying focused on a problem. Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) seem to have particularly poor WM, making it difficult for them to pay attention and learn from experience. Scientists have recently discovered that WM capacity depends in part on the ability to exclude (inhibit) irrelevant information - which could clog up WM - and thereby control what is held in mind. Excitingly, a brain imaging technique has been developed that can identify the brain processes responsible for filtering out (inhibiting) irrelevant information from WM. What's more, scientists believe that WM performance, and perhaps even some other types of brain processes and ADHD symptoms in children with ADHD, can be improved by a 5-week intensive, individualized, and progressive computerized training program. However, scientists don't know whether the WM problems in ADHD arise from poor filtering ability, or whether the WM training program would be effective for adults with ADHD. So our plan is to use this brain imaging technique with young adults with and without ADHD to first determine whether WM problems in ADHD are related to poor filtering abilities or other brain processes. Then we will examine the effects of the WM training program on young adults with ADHD to see if it does produce long-lasting improvements in WM and other aspects of daily functioning. To do so we will compare the effects of the individualized, progressive and high-intensity WM training program with those of a low-intensity and non-progressive version. Findings will increase our understanding of brain mechanisms underlying WM problems in ADHD, and thereby help fine-tune the WM training approach so that it can be maximally effective.