The Effect of Physical Effort in the Decision Making Process of Preadolescents With ADHD

In the current study we will examine a specific aspect of these processes that has yet to be studied. We will test the effect that a physically effortful assignment has on the choices that a preadolescent makes using a forced choice paradigm in which the participant will be asked to choose between and carry out either a high cost-high reward option (HR) or a low cost-low reward (LR) option. The HR option will demand a significant amount of physical effort and will be paired up with a large reward as opposed to the LR option which will be less demanding physically and paired up with a small reward. The assignment will be carried out using a hand held dynamometer which measures the power produced by the participants' upper extremity.

We propose that a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will choose a task that involves less effort despite the small reward tied to it compared to a control child who will choose the more demanding task and the larger reward.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: ADHD

Detailed Description

In the current study we will examine a specific aspect of these processes that has yet to be studied. We will test the effect that a physically effortful assignment has on the choices that a preadolescent makes using a forced choice paradigm in which the participant will be asked to choose between and carry out either a high cost-high reward option (HR) or a low cost-low reward (LR) option. The HR option will demand a significant amount of physical effort and will be paired up with a large reward as opposed to the LR option which will be less demanding physically and paired up with a small reward. The assignment will be carried out using a hand held dynamometer which measures the power produced by the participants' upper extremity.

We propose that a child with ADHD will choose a task that involves less effort despite the small reward tied to it compared to a control child who will choose the more demanding task and the larger reward.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 60

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Jerusalem, Israel
    • Shaarei Zedek Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 13 years (CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

residents of jerusalem

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• clinical diagnosis of ADHD

Exclusion Criteria:

• any other neurological or psychiatric diagnosis

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Preadolescents with ADHD; preadolescents with prior diagnosis of ADHD and without any other psychiatric or neurological diagnosis.
Preadolescents with out any diagnosis

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
The number of "low effort" choices of the ADHD participants compared to the number of "low effort" choices of the control participants	immediately after testing

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Shaare Zedek Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: yehuda polak, Dr., Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): April 1, 2015
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): April 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 11, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2013
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): November 8, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): September 9, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 6, 2015
• Last Verified: July 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: effortdiscounting.ctil