Eyes-Open Fronto-Central Alpha Activity as an Electrophysiological Correlate of Working Memory in Children with Predominantly Inattentive ADHD.
8 affiliations
- 1Department of Pediatrics, MacKay Children's Hospital, Taipei 104217, Taiwan.
- 2Division of Psychiatry, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 104217, Taiwan.
- 3School of Medicine, College of Medicine, MacKay Medical University, New Taipei City 252005, Taiwan.
- 4Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, MacKay Medical University, New Taipei City 252005, Taiwan.
- 5Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Tsaotun Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nantou 542019, Taiwan.
- 6The Institute of Electrical and Control Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300093, Taiwan.
- 7Child Developmental Assessment & Intervention Center, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 104217, Taiwan.
- 8Department of Pediatric Neurology, MacKay Children's Hospital, Taipei 104217, Taiwan.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study aimed to identify resting-state quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) correlates of cognitive performance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: ADHD diagnoses were established according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Cognitive performance was evaluated using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, focusing on the Working Memory Index (WMI) and Processing Speed Index (PSI). Following at least 24 h medication washout, QEEG recordings were collected during both the eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) resting states. The absolute spectral power across four frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, and beta) was analyzed within seven predefined scalp regions. Associations between QEEG measures and cognitive indices were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation with false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Results: A total of 45 children with ADHD were included: 29 with predominantly inattentive ADHD (ADHD-I) and 16 with combined ADHD (ADHD-C). No significant associations between the QEEG measures and cognitive performance were observed in the overall ADHD cohort. However, within the ADHD-I presentation, EO alpha power was positively correlated with WMI scores across bilateral frontal and central regions (Spearman's ρ = 0.535-0.582, FDR-corrected q = 0.014-0.028). In contrast, no significant alpha-WMI associations were identified in the ADHD-C presentation. Furthermore, no significant correlations were observed during the EC condition, and no EEG-PSI associations survived the FDR in either presentation. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate presentation-related differences in QEEG-cognitive relationships and suggest that EO frontocentral alpha activity may represent an electrophysiological correlate of working memory performance in pediatric ADHD-I, though limited by the lack of healthy controls.
Related
- T and B cell subsets differentially correlate with amyloid deposition and neurocognitive function in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment after one year of physical activity
- Rethinking mobility: Life space outperforms physical activity as a correlate of health outcomes among older adults in Singapore.
- Unsupervised electrophysiological localization of dorsolateral-associated STN activity using an attention-based contrastive VAE for optimal deep brain stimulation electrode placement in Parkinson’s disease
- Boosting Children’s Physical Activity in Outside School Hours Care
- Lipid and immune profiles in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a case-control study with paired longitudinal comparison of disease activity
BibTeX
@article{wang2026eyesopen,
title = {{Eyes-Open Fronto-Central Alpha Activity as an Electrophysiological Correlate of Working Memory in Children with Predominantly Inattentive ADHD.}},
author = {Chih-Hao Wang and Yu-Hsin Huang and Yun-Tse Lee and Hao-Wei Wang and Yi-Hung Liu and Hui-Ju Chen},
journal = {Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/diagnostics16193104},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882259},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Eyes-Open Fronto-Central Alpha Activity as an Electrophysiological Correlate of Working Memory in Children with Predominantly Inattentive ADHD.
AU - Chih-Hao Wang
AU - Yu-Hsin Huang
AU - Yun-Tse Lee
AU - Hao-Wei Wang
AU - Yi-Hung Liu
AU - Hui-Ju Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/diagnostics16193104
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882259
AB - Background/Objectives: This study aimed to identify resting-state quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) correlates of cognitive performance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: ADHD diagnoses were established according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Cognitive performance was evaluated using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, focusing on the Working Memory Index (WMI) and Processing Speed Index (PSI). Following at least 24 h medication washout, QEEG recordings were collected during both the eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) resting states. The absolute spectral power across four frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, and beta) was analyzed within seven predefined scalp regions. Associations between QEEG measures and cognitive indices were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation with false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Results: A total of 45 children with ADHD were included: 29 with predominantly inattentive ADHD (ADHD-I) and 16 with combined ADHD (ADHD-C). No significant associations between the QEEG measures and cognitive performance were observed in the overall ADHD cohort. However, within the ADHD-I presentation, EO alpha power was positively correlated with WMI scores across bilateral frontal and central regions (Spearman's ρ = 0.535-0.582, FDR-corrected q = 0.014-0.028). In contrast, no significant alpha-WMI associations were identified in the ADHD-C presentation. Furthermore, no significant correlations were observed during the EC condition, and no EEG-PSI associations survived the FDR in either presentation. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate presentation-related differences in QEEG-cognitive relationships and suggest that EO frontocentral alpha activity may represent an electrophysiological correlate of working memory performance in pediatric ADHD-I, though limited by the lack of healthy controls.
SN - 2075-4418
ER -