Public release date: 3-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Anna Mikulak amikulak@psychologicalscience.org 202-293-9300 Association for Psychological Science

Critical issues in learning, ADHD and autism will be explored during the Association for Psychological Science annual convention in Chicago, from May 23 to the 27th. Leaders in the field studying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, learning, and childhood development will present the latest in psychological science research that will shed light on treatment options, disorder management, memory and school performance.

There will be two major offerings in ADHD research.

Four experts on ADHD will present current research, and discuss future directions for treating and assessing the disorder. Howard Berenbaum from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Arnaud Rey from Aix-Marseille University, France will moderate the session. Friday, May 25, 2012 10:30 AM 11:50 AM Chicago Ballroom X

Children with ADHD typically have great difficulty in both following and creating linear narratives. What does this reveal about the disorder and how can the creation of narratives actually address some of the problems that these children encounter in school? Richard S. Milich from the University of Kentucky has focused on this subject and will discuss the academic difficulties of children with ADHD and how they are connected to the difficulty that they have in creating coherent narratives.

Richard S. Milich, Professor of Psychology, University of Kentucky millich@email.uky.edu

The brain chemistry of children with ADHD will be discussed by Tiago V. Maia from Columbia University. What neurotransmitters are involved in producing the cognitive and behavioral symptoms that characterize this disorder? No one knows for sure, but by using a computer simulation of the role of norepinephrine in attention, these researchers found that low levels of norepinephrine produce many of ADHD's symptoms.

Tiago V. Maia, Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology, Columbia University MaiaT@columbia.edu

The part of our brain that keeps us organized, that helps us prioritize various situations with order and agility is known as executive function. One characteristic of children with ADHD is that the part of their brain responsible for executive functioning is compromised. As a result, when they should react with speed and clarity, they respond slowly and with uncertainty. But executive function is not simply a single process. By isolating response times into different components, Cynthia Huang-Pollock from Pennsylvania State University teases out the connections between poor executive function performance and the response times. This connection can lead to new understanding about ADHD and may lead to new strategies for treating the disorder.

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Autism, ADHD, and children's learning -- insights from Psychological Science