Identifying the psychological, behavioral, and neural effects of dance on young adults with ADHD

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is emerging as a growing public health challenge in the United States. More than 15 million adults in the United States are diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood. Moreover, stimulant refill rates are increasing while patients struggle to get their ADHD medications. Although more adults are seeking help for ADHD, primary care settings continue to fall short of meeting quality-of-care standards for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. To address this issue, this dissertation set out to accomplish the following aims: 1) Examine the psychological, behavioral, and neural predictors of ADHD symptomatology in young adults and 2) Study the acute effects of dance and exercise on the psychological, behavioral, and neural outcomes of ADHD in this population. For Aim 1) 67 young adults (Ages: 18-24, Sex: Male [N=18], Female [N=49]) completed a series of mental health questionnaires, executive function tasks, and balance assessments while wearing a 64- electrode electroencephalography cap. Depressive symptoms, sex, alpha (8-12 Hz) power in the Right Paracentral Lobule, and P3b Mean Amplitude were the greatest predictors of self-reported symptoms on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale v1.1. For Aim 2) 63 of these participants (Sex: Male [N = 17], Female [N = 46]) were assigned, through stratified randomization, to one of three 30-minute interventions associated with a dance exergame: 1) sitting and watching the game, 2) riding a bike to the game, 3) dancing along with/playing the game. Participants underwent the same series of assessments about 1 week after their first visit but underwent their assigned intervention before all assessments took place. Biking and dancing suppressed alpha power in brain regions associated with attentional networks and improved cognitive flexibility. Dance, but not biking, specifically suppressed alpha activity in regions associated with top-down attentional control. The identification of significant neural predictors and nonpharmacological treatment outcomes associated with attention can guide future standards in the diagnosis and treatment of adults with ADHD.