AUTHOR=Geurts Dirk E. M. , den Ouden Hanneke E. M. , Janssen Lotte , Swart Jennifer C. , Froböse Monja I. , Cools Roshan , Speckens Anne E. M. 

TITLE=Aversive Pavlovian inhibition in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and its restoration by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

VOLUME=16

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.938082

DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2022.938082

ISSN=1662-5153

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Control over the tendency to make or withhold responses guided by contextual Pavlovian information plays a key role in understanding impulsivity and hyperactivity. Here we set out to assess (1) the understudied relation between contextual Pavlovian inhibitory control and hyperactivity/impulsivity in adults with ADHD and (2) whether this inhibition can be enhanced by mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Within the framework of a randomized controlled trial 50 Adult ADHD patients were assessed before and after 8 weeks of treatment as usual (TAU) with (<italic>n</italic> = 24) or without (<italic>n</italic> = 26) MBCT. We employed a well-established behavioral Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer task that quantifies Pavlovian inhibitory control over instrumental behavior.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Task results revealed (1) less aversive Pavlovian inhibition in ADHD patients with clinically relevant hyperactivity/impulsivity than in those without; and (2) enhanced Pavlovian inhibition across all ADHD patients after TAU+MBCT compared with TAU.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>These findings offer new insights in the neurocognitive mechanisms of hyperactivity/impulsivity in ADHD and its treatment: We reveal a role for Pavlovian inhibitory mechanisms in understanding hyperactive/impulsive behaviors in ADHD and point toward MBCT as an intervention that might influence these mechanisms.</p></sec>