Research

Hyperresponsiveness to social rewards in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Gregor Kohls^1,2 , Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann³ and Kerstin Konrad¹

¹  Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Neuenhofer Weg 21, D – 52074 Aachen, Germany

²  Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3535 Market Street, 8th floor, Suite 860, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

³  Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Neuenhofer Weg 21, D – 52074 Aachen, Germany

author email corresponding author email

Behavioral and Brain Functions 2009, 5:20doi:10.1186/1744-9081-5-20

Published:	8 May 2009

Abstract

Background

Current research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with larger behavioral sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. However, most studies have focused thus far on the enhancing effects of tangible rewards such as money, neglecting that social-emotional stimuli may also impact task performance in ADHD patients.

Methods

To determine whether non-social (monetary) and social (positive facial expressions) rewards differentially improve response inhibition accuracy in children and adolescents with ADHD, we applied an incentive go/no-go task with reward contingencies for successful inhibition and compared ADHD subjects with typically developing individuals.

Results

Both social and monetary contingencies improved inhibition accuracy in all participants. However, individuals with ADHD displayed a particularly higher profit from social reward than healthy controls, suggesting that cognitive control in ADHD patients can be specifically improved by social reinforcement. By contrast, self-rated motivation associated with task performance was significantly lower in ADHD patients.

Conclusion

Our findings provide evidence for hyperresponsiveness to social rewards in ADHD patients, which is accompanied by limited self-awareness. These data suggest that social reward procedures may be particularly useful in behavioral interventions in children with ADHD.