The Dynamics of Bimanual Coordination in ADHD : Processing Speed, Inhibition and Cognitive Flexibility

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a severe disorder of self-control that affects between 2.5 and 6% of children in Europe, Australia and the USA. The main theory of ADHD proposes that children with this condition suffer from a deficit in areas of the frontal lobe's dopamine pathways that serve to inhibit an unwanted response. This has served to provide a rationale for the use of stimulant medication, such as Ritalin, to enhance the amount of dopamine in underdeveloped areas of the brain. In contrast, the more recent research literature reviewed in this book shows that things are not that simple and that frontal lobe inhibition in children with ADHD can occurs in certain contexts and not in others. The three empirical studies included in this book examine how the inhibitory dysfunction observed in ADHD affects their bimanual coordination. This book will provide clinicians and researchers with new ideas about aspects of motor coordination in ADHD and methods for investigating bimanual movement in these too often misunderstood and mismanaged children.