Key result
Lower electrophysiological anticipatory attention to motivationally relevant feedback was associated with greater alcohol consumption at 18-month follow-up in adolescents at-risk for ADHD (b = -7.454).
Why the study?
The ADHD clinical phenotype has limitations for deciphering etiology and predicting prognosis, and the extent to which intermediate phenotypes like reward anticipation ERPs are associated with ADHD risk and prognosis is unknown.
Are event-related potential (ERP) measures of reward anticipation associated with ADHD polygenic risk scores and future alcohol misuse in adolescents?
Cohort (n=304)
Are event-related potential (ERP) measures of reward anticipation associated with ADHD polygenic risk scores and future alcohol misuse in adolescents?
Effect estimate: b = -7.454 (95% CI -12.873 to -2.034)
p-value: p=0.007
Electrophysiological measures of reward anticipation may serve as risk and prognostic biomarkers for ADHD, predicting future alcohol misuse.
May flag alcohol risk in ADHD at-risk adolescents via reward ERPs; hypothesis-generating for biomarkers, requires prospective validation.
The attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) clinical phenotype has limitations for deciphering ADHD etiology and predicting prognosis. Although relative to the clinical phenotype, intermediate phenotypes may have better explanatory and prognostic power, the extent to which ADHD intermediate phenotypes are associated with ADHD risk and prognosis is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate evidence for event-related potential (ERP) measures of reward anticipation as ADHD risk and prognostic biomarkers. We examined, whether (1) in a sample of adolescents ( N = 304; M age = 15.78 years, SD = 1.08; 39.5% female), accounting for the effects of age, sex, ADHD severity and depression, ERPs are associated with ADHD polygenic risk scores (PRSs) (ADHD risk) and (2) in a sample of adolescents at-risk for ADHD ( n = 99; M age = 15.78 years, SD = 1.08; 39.5% female), accounting for the effects of age, sex, ADHD severity, depression, and baseline outcome values, ERPs are associated, prospectively, with alcohol misuse (ADHD prognosis). In adolescents, greater ADHD PRSs were associated with lower electrophysiological anticipatory attention to motivationally relevant feedback ( b = −0.115, p = .046 95%CI [−0.228; −0.002]). The predictors accounted for 5% of the variance in the outcome. In adolescents at-risk for ADHD, at 18-month follow-up, lower electrophysiological anticipatory attention to motivationally relevant feedback was associated with greater alcohol consumption ( b = −7.454, p = .007, 95%CI [−12.873; −2.034]). The predictors accounted for 31% of the variance in this outcome. These findings were replicated in sensitivity analyses with behavioral performance variables added as covariates. The current findings support the hypothesis that ERP amplitudes of reward anticipation may be ADHD risk and prognostic biomarkers and suggest that intermediate phenotypes may confer advantages over the ADHD clinical phenotype in delineating etiology and predicting prognosis.
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Bunford et al. (2024) conducted a cohort in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (n=304). Electrophysiological indices of reward anticipation (SPN) was evaluated on Alcohol consumption at 18-month follow-up (b = -7.454, 95% CI -12.873 to -2.034, p=0.007). Lower electrophysiological anticipatory attention to motivationally relevant feedback was associated with greater alcohol consumption at 18-month follow-up in adolescents at-risk for ADHD (b = -7.454).
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