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Motor cortical inhibition in ADHD: modulation of the transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked N100 in a response control task

  • Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Original Article
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Abstract

The N100 component, evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography is associated with the activation of inhibitory cortical circuits and has recently been suggested as a potential marker of inhibition in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of the present ADHD study was to investigate the modulation of the TMS-N100 in go and nogo trials of a response control task considering stages of response preparation, activation, execution and inhibition. Eighteen children with ADHD and 19 typically developing children, aged 10–14 years, were assessed. TMS was delivered over the left motor cortex, the TMS-N100 was measured at electrode P3. The TMS-N100 was determined at rest and at different time points (50 ms before S2; 150, 300 and 500 ms after S2) in a cued go/nogo task (S1–S2 paradigm). Correlations between the TMS-N100 measures, MEP-related TMS measures (e.g., short-interval intracortical inhibition) and performance measures were calculated. At rest, the amplitude of TMS-N100 was not found to be significantly reduced in the ADHD group. During the go/nogo task, children with ADHD showed a smaller increase of TMS-N100 amplitude in go trials and a smaller decrease after inhibiting a response. In go trials, a lower TMS-N100 was associated with a smaller variability of reaction times. A smaller TMS-N100 modulation extends the picture of cortical inhibition deficits in ADHD. Findings suggest a functional involvement of the mechanisms underlying the TMS-N100 at the motor output stage.

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Notes

  1. Analyzing the TMS-N100 at P3 for the data of Bruckmann et al. (2012), the difference between children with ADHD and TD children was close to a trend (Bender, personal communication).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Viale Oxford 81, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Elisa D’Agati & Paolo Curatolo

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University Hospital of Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6+10, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Thomas Hoegl, Oliver Kratz, Gunther H. Moll & Hartmut Heinrich

  3. Section for Clinical Neurophysiology and Multimodal Neuroimaging, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Department, Technical University Dresden, Schubertstr. 42, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Gabriel Dippel & Stephan Bender

  4. Heckscher-Klinikum, Deisenhofener Str. 28, 81539, Munich, Germany

    Hartmut Heinrich

Authors
  1. Elisa D’Agati
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  2. Thomas Hoegl
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  3. Gabriel Dippel
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  4. Paolo Curatolo
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  5. Stephan Bender
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  6. Oliver Kratz
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  7. Gunther H. Moll
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  8. Hartmut Heinrich
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Correspondence to Hartmut Heinrich.

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D’Agati, E., Hoegl, T., Dippel, G. et al. Motor cortical inhibition in ADHD: modulation of the transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked N100 in a response control task. J Neural Transm 121, 315–325 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-013-1097-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-013-1097-7

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