Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Clinical Trials

The study team will examine the effects of FDA approved stimulant and non-stimulant medications for ADHD, among youth with ADHD and with and without Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) or Conduct Disorder (CD), on reward systems of the brain using fMRI. Read Less

This study develops and refines an online platform that will support clinician-directed behavioral and organizational skills intervention for adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with input guided from key stakeholders during focus groups and interviews (phase 1), extended usability testing (phase 2), and a pilot randomized trial (phase 3) of the online tool used in conjunction with an organizational skills intervention. Read Less

The investigators will examine the acute effects of stimulant medication on executive functioning. The rationale for the proposed study is to examine the efficacy of stimulants for college students with ADHD and help prevent stimulant misuse among college students without ADHD. The working hypothesis is that stimulants, compared to baseline and placebo conditions, will improve executive functioning for college students with ADHD but not for college students without ADHD. Improvements on executive functioning measures (e.g., CPT-IP, Spatial Span) will be examined through 2 (ADHD vs. non-ADHD) x 3 (Baseline, Placebo, Stimulant) repeated measures ANOVAs. Follow-up analyses will include paired comparisons. Expected outcomes are to confirm these hypotheses and demonstrate the need for further study of stimulants. If confirmed, the results will provide pilot data for a larger NIH grant proposal aimed at further examining the acute effects of stimulants (i.e., improved cognitive functioning with stimulants) and comparing them to the acute effects of physical exercise (i.e., improved cognitive functioning immediately after exercise). The investigators expect this outcome to have an important positive impact because it can help support stimulant medication as an effective treatment for college students with ADHD (DuPaul et al., 2012). Additionally, demonstration that stimulants do not improve executive functioning for college students without ADHD can be used to help prevent and discourage stimulant misuse and diversion on college campuses (Hartung et al., 2013). Read Less

The goal of this study is to determine the effects of stimulant medication on disruptive behavior, function, preference and choice; however, it is primarily methodological and will add to current research by establishing an effective evaluation of the impact of stimulant medication on these behaviors. Three behavior assessments for children and adolescents diagnosed with AD/HD who exhibit disruptive behavior will be conducted: Preference assessments will be conducted to determine whether preference for social and nonsocial items and activities differs under medication and non-medication conditions. Functional analyses will be conducted to determine whether stimulant medication has an effect on the frequency and function or purpose of disruptive behavior. Choice assessments will be conducted to evaluate the impact of stimulant medication on impulse control/delay discounting. This study will be conducted in three phases. For each of the 5 to 10 participants there will be 8 total visits. The first 4 visits will entail a preference assessment, followed by a functional analysis. On visits 1 and 3, the participant will be asked to take his/her stimulant medication as is typically done; however, on visits 2 and 4, the participant will be asked to refrain from taking the medication. For visits 5-8, participants will continue to participate in preference assessments, but will also be presented with a choice arrangement with work and play. In the choice arrangement, participants will be given four work cards and four play cards that they can organize in any order. Work cards will be associated with a brief academic task and play cards will be associated with a brief play period using high-preferred toys/activities. On visits 5 and 7 the participant will be asked to take his or her stimulant medication as usual, while on visits 6 and 8 the participant will be asked to refrain from taking his or her medication. Read Less

The investigators have developed BUILT in hopes of empowering families to adopt and sustain healthy food, sleep, and exercise routines that optimize child focus, attention, and behavior. Over 8-weeks, the BUILT program will explore what science says about the effects of sleep, nutrition, and exercise on brain development and behavior; investigate the food, sleep, and exercise routines of the world's best athletes and intellectuals; and experiment with home routines to find those that best fits with participating families. It is hypothesized that families participating in BUILT (N=150) will show significant improvements in child health behaviors (sleep, nutrition, physical activity, recreational screen time), child mental health (ADHD symptoms [primary outcome], child functional impairment), child physical literacy, and family dynamics (cohesion, structure, communication) from baseline to posttest. Read Less

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the effects of 15 minutes of sensory-play based (SenPlay) intervention on improving focused attention in developmentally appropriate tasks in young children with or at risk for ADHD. Read Less

The investigators will develop and pilot test an innovative computer-assisted behavior intervention (CABI) for middle school students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The CABI will deliver evidence-based behavior interventions for ADHD in a manner that is acceptable to teachers and motivating for students. The key element of the CABI is a serious game that will teach and encourage rehearsal of ADHD coping skills in an engaging game environment. Transfer of those skills to authentic education settings will be facilitated by teacher interventionists in consultation with school or clinical psychologists. The investigators will test the CABI condition (n = 18) against traditional teacher consultation for ADHD (n = 18) on measures of consultation fidelity and student academic and behavioral outcomes. Read Less