Who can participate?
Children 10 to 12 years old who have attentional difficulties such as excessive daydreaming, mental confusion and fogginess, spaciness, and slowed behavior/thinking may be eligible to participate.
What will happen in the study?
You and your child will be asked to participate in 3 study visits over 2 years. The first study visit will last approximately 4 hours, and the other two visits will last approximately 3 hours. Here are some of the things that will happen in this study.
If your child is taking a psychostimulant medication for ADHD, you will be asked to discontinue their medication 24 hours before the research study visits.
Most of the tests and procedures in this study are standard.
You and your child will:
- Separately answer questions about his/her mental health
- Complete rating scales
Your child will:
- Be asked to complete behavioral tasks
- While completing a social interaction chat room task, have physiological (body function) data collected including:
- An electrocardiogram to measure your child’s heart rate; involves electrodes (small metal disks) placed on your child’s collar bones and at the bottom of his or her rib cage to identify when your child’s heart is beating and how fast it is beating
- A belt around your child’s ribcage to measure his/her respiration; involves placing a belt around his/her ribcage on the outside of their clothing
- A test to measure the amount of sweat produced on the tip of their fingers; involves putting electrodes around two of your child’s fingers with Velcro
Your child’s teacher will also be asked to complete rating scale forms after each study visit.
You will be given a consent form that thoroughly explains all of the details of the study. A member of the study staff will review the consent form with you and will be sure that all of your questions are answered.
What are the good things that can happen from this research?
We cannot promise any benefits to you or your child from your taking part in this research. However, possible benefits include better understanding your child’s attentional, behavioral, emotional, and social functioning.