Train Your Brain and Exercise Your Heart? Advancing the Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Summary

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder that has a severe impact on a child's life and society. The core symptoms are attention problems, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These symptoms are related to disruptions in neurocognitive functions (such as inhibition: the ability to stop behavior) and disruptions in cortical regulation (such as 'cortical underarousal' as measured with the electroencephalogram). To date, the only evidence-based treatment is pharmacological. Medication is not effective in 20-30% of the children with ADHD and it can have side effects. The lack of alternatives for medication is a severe problem for these children and society.

Neurofeedback is becoming increasingly popular for treating ADHD. Neurofeedback is a training in which a person learns to alter its cortical regulation. Neurofeedback has been classified as 'probably effective' but its treatment effects need further empirical evidence. Non specific training effects, such as individual attention, may also contribute to treatment success. In this research project the investigators compare the efficacy of neurofeedback with exercise, a second non-pharmacological treatment, that may be comparable with neurofeedback in terms of non-specific effects. Exercise is also a promising treatment because of its positive effects on behavior, neurocognition in several patient groups. For these reasons, exercise deserves systematic research in ADHD. Furthermore, the investigators compare the efficacy of these two treatments with an optimal pharmacological treatment with methylphenidate (MPH). The main question is if neurofeedback and exercise are comparable in efficacy with MPH for treating ADHD. The primary outcome measure is behaviour (symptoms of ADHD). Secondary outcome measures include neurocognition and cortical regulation. This research project will give answer to the question if neurofeedback and exercise are as effective as MPH. Furthermore, it will give insight in how these interventions will give rise to improvements in behavior.

Conditions

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Interventions

OTHER

Neurofeedback

30 sessions of theta/beta neurofeedback within 10 weeks.

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise

30 sessions of individual sports training during 10 weeks.

DRUG

methylphenidate

The medication treatment is based on the MTA study and includes methylphenidate dosages of 5, 10, 15 (only for children with a weight below 25 kg) and 20 mg (only for children with a weight above 25 kg. The optimum dose will be determined by a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

  collaborator OTHER

• Yulius

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• R. van Mourik

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rosa van Mourik, PhD · VU University, faculty of psychology and education, department of clinical neuropsychology

• Jaap Oosterlaan, Professor · VU University, Faculty of Psychology and Education, department of clinical neuropsychology

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

7 Years

Max Age

13 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-06-30

Primary Completion

2015-01-31

Completion

2015-01-31

Countries

• Netherlands

Study Locations