Convergence: Connecting Levels of Analysis in Psychological Science
In the past, our field harbored distinct, and often competing, schools of thought that tackled different problems and produced findings that often appeared to diverge. Today, investigators attack shared problems at complementary levels of analysis and produce results that converge. Studies of people in a social world; mental systems of cognition and emotion; and biological mechanisms of the genome and the nervous system interconnect and yield an integrated psychological science. The APS 23rd Annual Convention displays, and celebrates, these advances in our field.

Cross-cutting Invited Symposium

Current Directions in ADHD Research

Friday, May 25, 2012, 10:30 AM - 11:50 AM
Chicago Ballroom X

Chair: Arnaud Rey
CNRS & Aix-Marseille University, France

Chair: Howard Berenbaum
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The acronym ADHD (for "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder") appeared in the scientific literature during the 1980's and has received enormous attention since then. The goal of this joint clinical-cognitive symposium is to gather various perspectives from four ADHD experts, to present some current research, and to discuss future directions.

Continuing Education: 1.5 APA Credits

Learning Objectives

This workshop is designed to help you:

1. Provide a sociological and historical overview of ADHD and stimulant pharmacotherapy.

2. Describe the role of norepinephrine in ADHD.

3. Discuss the cognitive deficits associated with ADHD.

Continuing education for psychologists is sponsored by the Psychology Department at the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (WHASC). The Psychology Department at WHASC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. WHASC maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Point of contact for the CE Program is Howard Garb. He can be reached at howard.garb@us.af.mil, or 210.671.4084.

Inference-Making Difficulties Among Children With ADHD
Richard S. Milich
University of Kentucky
Story comprehension research is an effective method for investigating the academic difficulties of children with ADHD. Deficits have been identified in these children’s causal reasoning, understanding of goal structure and event importance, and coherent story creation. The current study investigated whether inference-making difficulties contribute to their struggles to comprehend stories.

Co-Author: Jessica Kosloski, University of Kentucky

Co-Author: Angela Hayden, University of Kentucky

Co-Author: Elizabeth P. Lorch, University of Kentucky

Norepinephrine and ADHD
Tiago V. Maia
Columbia University
ADHD involves catecholaminergic disturbances, but the way in which these disturbances produce the cognitive and behavioral symptoms that characterize this disorder remains unclear. Using a computational model of the role of norepinephrine in attention, we found that low levels of norepinephrine produce many of the neuropsychological deficits that characterize ADHD.

Integrating Common Cognitive Phenomena in ADHD
Cynthia Huang-Pollock
Pennsylvania State University
There is robust evidence that children with ADHD perform poorly on tasks of executive function and that they produce slower and more variable RTs when speeded responses are required. This presentation describes recent work demonstrating that both phenomena can be integrated and understood within a diffusion model approach that isolates RTs into separable components.

Medicating Kids: ADHD and the Controversy Over Stimulants
Rick Mayes
University of Richmond
Why and how did ADHD become the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among children and adolescents, as well as one of the most controversial? In trying to answer these questions, this presentation integrates analyses of the political, historical, educational, social, economic, and legal aspects of ADHD and stimulant pharmacotherapy.

Subject Area: Clinical