Attention Deficit Disorder and Methylphenidate: Group and Single-Subject Analyses of Dose Effects on Attention in Clinic and Classroom Settings

Abstract

Abstract We examined the effects of a range of methylphenidate (MPH) doses on attention deficit disordered-hyperactive (ADDH) children's attention in school and on Continuous Performance Test (CPT) performance in a clinic setting. Forty-two ADDH 6- to 11-year-old children participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design in which each child received four doses of MPH and a placebo in a randomly assigned sequence. The group results showed significant medication effects on classroom percentage of on-task behavior, academic efficiency, teacher ratings of attention, and CPT omission errors. Only percentage of on-task behavior and academic efficiency showed significant (group) dosage differences. There was a linear ,relationship between increasing dose and these classroom measures. Dose-response plots were compared for a representative subset of individual children to illustrate the idiosyncnratic and task-specific behavior exhibited across doses.