INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 10 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 09:00 am - 10:15 am Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental \| Congenital Conditions Final Abstract #105 The Impact of Comorbid Psychopathology on Learning and Memory Among Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Jessica Yang, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Brooke Boulais, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Brian Cerny, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Gabriel Ovsiew, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Matthew Philips, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Devin Ulrich, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Kyle Jennette, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Neil Pliskin, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Jason Soble, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States Category: ADHD/Attentional Functions Keyword 1: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Keyword 2: cognitive functioning Objective: Deficits in learning and memory have been identified in both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and internalizing psychopathology (e.g., depressive and anxiety disorders). Despite the high lifetime prevalence of comorbid psychological disorders among individuals with ADHD, research assessing the impact of comorbid psychopathology on learning and memory performance in individuals with ADHD is sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate verbal learning and memory performance among adults diagnosed with ADHD alone, ADHD and a comorbid internalizing disorder, or an internalizing disorder without ADHD. Participants and Methods: The sample consisted of 566 adult patients (37.8% male) ages 18-60 (M= 28.2, SD=7.9) clinically referred for neuropsychological evaluation at an academic medical center to assist with ADHD diagnostic clarification and treatment planning. Of these, 179 patients met DSM-5 criteria for ADHD alone, 258 met criteria for ADHD and an active internalizing psychological disorder (i.e., mood, anxiety, or traumatic stress disorder), and 111 were diagnosed with a primary internalizing psychopathological condition without ADHD. All patients were administered a uniform neuropsychological test battery, which included the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), a measure of verbal/auditory learning and memory. Patients who failed two or more performance validity tests during the evaluation were excluded to objectively ensure valid test performance. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with clinical group (i.e., ADHD only, ADHD + internalizing disorder, internalizing disorder only) as the fixed factor and RAVLT Total Learning, Delayed Recall, and Recognition age-corrected T-scores as outcome variables assessed for differences in learning and memory performance. Results: Significant main effects of study group were found for RAVLT Delayed Recall (F= 3.59, p=0.03, ηp²=0.01) and Recognition (F= 4.51, p=0.01, ηp²=0.02) performance, whereas nonsignificant group differences were present for Total Learning (F= 1.57, p=0.21) performance. Tukey post hoc test showed that the ADHD + internalizing disorder group had significantly lower RAVLT Delayed Recall (p =0.02, 95% CI = [-6.13, -0.35]) and Recognition (p =0.01, 95% CI = [-7.39, -0.88]) T-scores compared to the internalizing disorder only group. By contrast, the ADHD and ADHD + internalizing disorder groups performed comparably. Conclusions: The presence of comorbid internalizing psychopathology does not meaningfully affect auditory verbal learning and memory performance among adults with ADHD. However, memory profiles of adults with internalizing psychopathology and ADHD appear to differ from those with solely an internalizing disorder diagnosis, particularly in delayed recall and recognition. A direction for future research includes examining the impact of comorbid psychopathology and ADHD on performance in other cognitive domains.

Poster

02/17/2024
09:00 am - 10:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental | Congenital Conditions

Final Abstract #105

The Impact of Comorbid Psychopathology on Learning and Memory Among Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Jessica Yang, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Brooke Boulais, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Brian Cerny, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Gabriel Ovsiew, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Matthew Philips, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Devin Ulrich, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Kyle Jennette, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Neil Pliskin, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States
Jason Soble, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, United States

Category: ADHD/Attentional Functions

Keyword 1: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Keyword 2: cognitive functioning

Objective:

Deficits in learning and memory have been identified in both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and internalizing psychopathology (e.g., depressive and anxiety disorders). Despite the high lifetime prevalence of comorbid psychological disorders among individuals with ADHD, research assessing the impact of comorbid psychopathology on learning and memory performance in individuals with ADHD is sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate verbal learning and memory performance among adults diagnosed with ADHD alone, ADHD and a comorbid internalizing disorder, or an internalizing disorder without ADHD.

Participants and Methods:

The sample consisted of 566 adult patients (37.8% male) ages 18-60 (M= 28.2, SD=7.9) clinically referred for neuropsychological evaluation at an academic medical center to assist with ADHD diagnostic clarification and treatment planning. Of these, 179 patients met DSM-5 criteria for ADHD alone, 258 met criteria for ADHD and an active internalizing psychological disorder (i.e., mood, anxiety, or traumatic stress disorder), and 111 were diagnosed with a primary internalizing psychopathological condition without ADHD. All patients were administered a uniform neuropsychological test battery, which included the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), a measure of verbal/auditory learning and memory. Patients who failed two or more performance validity tests during the evaluation were excluded to objectively ensure valid test performance. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with clinical group (i.e., ADHD only, ADHD + internalizing disorder, internalizing disorder only) as the fixed factor and RAVLT Total Learning, Delayed Recall, and Recognition age-corrected T-scores as outcome variables assessed for differences in learning and memory performance.

Results:

Significant main effects of study group were found for RAVLT Delayed Recall (F= 3.59, p=0.03, ηp²=0.01) and Recognition (F= 4.51, p=0.01, ηp²=0.02) performance, whereas nonsignificant group differences were present for Total Learning (F= 1.57, p=0.21) performance. Tukey post hoc test showed that the ADHD + internalizing disorder group had significantly lower RAVLT Delayed Recall (p =0.02, 95% CI = [-6.13, -0.35]) and Recognition (p =0.01, 95% CI = [-7.39, -0.88]) T-scores compared to the internalizing disorder only group. By contrast, the ADHD and ADHD + internalizing disorder groups performed comparably.

Conclusions:

The presence of comorbid internalizing psychopathology does not meaningfully affect auditory verbal learning and memory performance among adults with ADHD. However, memory profiles of adults with internalizing psychopathology and ADHD appear to differ from those with solely an internalizing disorder diagnosis, particularly in delayed recall and recognition. A direction for future research includes examining the impact of comorbid psychopathology and ADHD on performance in other cognitive domains.