Continuous performance test in children with intellectual disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Data regarding clinical and neuropsychological features of attention deficit in children with lower cognitive ability is still scarce. The objective was to analyze the response patterns on the Continuous Performance Test II in children with Intellectual Disability and Attention Defficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This is a cross-sectional study, in which patients were divided into 2 groups: one group with ADHD and Full IQ > 80 and another group with ADHD + Full IQ score < 80. They were afterwards administered the CPT II (Continuous Performance Test). A total of 215 children were included in the study, 57% of them with ADHD IQ > 80 and 43% with ADHD + Lower Intellectual Performance (LIP). Patients with ADHD and Lower Intellectual Performance presented more omissions error, slower reaction time and greater variability in the performance as the tests progresses, as well as worse stimulus detection and discrimination capacity. The results observed supply new information for the proper understanding of the functioning of attention processes in a poorly studied population.