these results fit within current models of intentionality and the frontal attentional control system.
thanks for the reference Mike. larry On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 17:01:28 -0500, Michael Dinowitz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > First biological test for ADHD unveiled > http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6886 > > The first biological test for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has > been developed. The researchers claim the diagnosis, based on examination of > eye movements, is more than 93% accurate and could lead to earlier > identification and treatment for children with the condition. > > Scientists analysed the eye movements of 65 children aged between four and > six in Thessaloniki, Greece. About half of the children had been diagnosed > as having ADHD through the standard method of psychological assessment and > the use of questionnaires. > > The children were placed in front of a computer screen while wearing special > goggles to monitor their eye movements and asked to use their eyes to > "lock-on to" and follow spots of light that traversed the screen during a > 10-minute test. > > "Children with ADHD show large difference in eye movements compared with > normal children. For example, those without ADHD could follow the light spot > for 30 seconds to as much as five minutes, whereas the children with the > disorder could only follow the stimulus for about three to five seconds," > says Giorgos Pavlidis at University of Brunel, UK, who led the study. > > The group analysed eye movements according to various criteria, these > included fixation on the stimulus, saccades - jerking between two focal > points - and smooth pursuit. The computer was able to correctly diagnose > 93.1% of the children. > Early intervention > > "Children as young as three years old could benefit from the test. It could > reliably identify those children who have ADHD early on so that effective > intervention could be given to reduce loss of confidence and other > behavioural and psychological problems," Pavlidis told New Scientist. > > Caroline Hensby, of the UK's ADHD support group, Adders, welcomed the > research, saying the test could be a valuable addition to current testing > procedures. "It would give sufferers a lot more confidence in their > diagnosis knowing that they had actually taken a biological test, as opposed > to just talking to someone - it would make the diagnosis more legitimate," > she says. > > "Also, it's very difficult for someone with ADHD to sit down and concentrate > for two hours - the length of current test period - so this short, > ten-minute test would be far better." > Responding to Ritalin > > And Pavlidis hopes the test could be used for prognosis in the future: "Some > patients with ADHD respond well to drugs such as Ritalin, and these patients > show differences in eye movements from other ADHD sufferers both before and > after taking the drug - in fact, after taking Ritalin, the patients who > respond well to it show normal eye movements. I hope to be able to construct > a computer test that can classify those ADHD patients who will respond to > drugs." > > Pavlidis estimates that between 3% and 7% of the population has ADHD, but > believes 80% of cases remain undiagnosed. > > It is not known how eye neurology is affected in ADHD, but Pavlidis points > out that a symptom of the disorder is premature action - acting before > thinking - and eye movements in those with the disorder are also premature. > "The children's eyes jerk across before the light stimulus has moved," he > explains. > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:142919 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
