Effects of methylphenidate on the ERP amplitude in youth with ADHD: A double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over EEG study

PLoS One. 2019 May 31;14(5):e0217383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217383. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Methylphenidate (MPH) is a first line drug for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet the neuronal mechanisms underlying the condition and the treatment are still not fully understood. Previous EEG studies on the effect of MPH in ADHD found changes in evoked response potential (ERP) components that were inconsistent between studies. These inconsistencies highlight the need for a well-designed study which includes multiple baseline sessions and controls for possible fatigue, learning effects and between-days variability. To this end, we employ a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over study and explore the effect of MPH on the ERP response of subjects with ADHD during a Go/No-Go cognitive task. Our ERP analysis revealed significant differences in ADHD subjects between the placebo and MPH conditions in the frontal-parietal region at 250ms-400ms post stimulus (P3). Additionally, a decrease in the late 650ms-800ms ERP component (LC) is observed in frontal electrodes of ADHD subjects compared to controls. The standard deviation of response time of ADHD subjects was significantly smaller in the MPH condition compared to placebo and correlated with the increased P3 ERP response in the frontoparietal electrodes. We suggest that mental fatigue plays a role in the decrease of the P3 response in the placebo condition compared to pre-placebo, a phenomenon that is significant in ADHD subjects but not in controls, and which is interestingly rectified by MPH.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / drug therapy*
  • Central Nervous System Stimulants / therapeutic use
  • Child
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Electroencephalography / methods
  • Evoked Potentials / drug effects*
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Methylphenidate / therapeutic use*
  • Parietal Lobe / drug effects
  • Reaction Time / drug effects

Substances

  • Central Nervous System Stimulants
  • Methylphenidate

Grants and funding

Elisha Moses is funded the Clore Center for Biological Physics, the Israel Science Foundation grant 1835/16 and the Minerva Foundation, Munich, Germany. Nava Levit-Binnun is supported by the Israel Science Foundation, grant 1169/11, by the Sagol Foundation and by the National Institute of Psychobiology in Israel. Dr. Itai Horowitz: The National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel - Founded by the Charles E. Smith Family. Grant serial number: 215-18-19. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.