Differences in performance between individuals with varying levels of ADHD risk in proactive and reactive control

Cognitive control deficits are the hallmarks of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Theoretical models suggest that cognitive control involves reactive and active control processes, but their specific performance in groups with different levels of hyperactivity risk is unclear, especially in studies of active control. Here, we used a within-subjects design to study the performance of 25 highly hyperactive adults(N = 25, 16 females; Mage = 21.44, SDage = 0.43) and 21 low hyperactive adults(N = 21, 12 females; Mage = 20.57, SDage = .48) in two different cognitive control tasks. The results showed that individuals with high hyperactivity risk were stable but not significantly weaker than those with low ADHD in all aspects of reactivity and active cognitive control. In addition, we found that individuals with high hyperactivity risk had significantly greater changes in error-induced drift rates than individuals with low hyperactivity risk. Finally, in individuals at high risk of hyperactivity, we found a significant positive correlation between hyperactivity scores and multiple cognitive control performances. Conclusion: The overall cognitive control performance of individuals with high hyperactivity risk is stable but not significantly weaker than that of individuals with low ADHD risk, and individuals with high hyperactivity risk are more sensitive to errors. And finally, some cognitive performance of the high hyperactivity group is better with the increase of hyperactivity.