Heart Rate Variability Prediction of Stimulant-Induced Creativity Gains in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background/Objectives: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent condition etiologically related to suboptimal levels of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) that is typically treated with psychostimulant medication. In individuals with ADHD, divergent thinking abilities have been shown to improve with the use of psychostimulants. Furthermore, psychostimulants affect autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning, which can impact creative cognition. However, it is not known how DA and NE affect creative cognition in this setting and how this effect is related to autonomic activity in ADHD. Therefore, our objective was to elucidate ANS function and its relationship with divergent creativity gains related to psychostimulant treatment in ADHD. Method: Seventeen individuals diagnosed with ADHD (age 27.9 ± 6.7 sd) participated in two counterbalanced sessions—one while on their prescribed stimulant medication and another after abstaining for at least 24 h. During each session, participants completed convergent (anagrams) and divergent (Torrance Test of Creative Thinking) thinking tasks. An 8 min electrocardiogram prior to cognitive testing was taken to measure heart rate variability (HRV), which is an index of ANS functioning. Results: The hypothesized baseline pNN50 HRV measure was not predictive of enhanced creativity gains on convergent anagrams or divergent creativity on the Torrance when taking stimulants. Conclusions: In this pilot study, the relationship between baseline HRV and the impact of stimulants on anagram performance suggests the noradrenergic system may not play a role in the effect of stimulants on convergent or divergent creativity. The lack of a relationship between baseline HRV and stimulant-related changes in TTCT and anagram scores lends some support to the hypothesis that dopaminergic effects may be the predominant factor in the effect of stimulants on creativity in ADHD. Future research should further investigate the interaction between hypoactive neurotransmitter systems, particularly dopamine in divergent and norepinephrine in convergent creativity, using neuroimaging techniques to assess neurotransmitter dynamics during creativity-based tasks.