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. 2011 Jan 31;6(1):e14618. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014618

Figure 1. Overstatement of the relevance of mouse studies towards ADHD neurobiology and treatment.

Figure 1

Studies were selected with a systematic search via PubMed (see methods). We rated a study as overstated when the link between ADHD and the studied mice only relied on their behavioral similarities with ADHD symptoms and when the conclusion stated that the findings provide novel insights into the neurobiology of ADHD. When this overstatement was reinforced by a claim about the clinical relevance of the study, it was rated as of type 2. Among the 101 studies examined, 56 were classified as overstated (33 type 1 and 23 type 2). A. Relationship between these 3 classes and the impact factor of the corresponding journal. Horizontal bars indicate mean ± SEM for the 3 classes. This impact factor was significantly higher (ANOVA, F = 6.52, Fisher's test: *p = 0.0006) when comparing studies with the type 2 overstatement to studies without overstatement. B. The occurrence rate of extrapolating to new therapeutic prospects (type 2 overstatement) is positively related to the impact factor.