Table 1.
Overview of Available Studies
| Author(s) | Year | Sample Size (%male) | Age (years) | Diagnostic Criteria | Medication | Study Design | ERP Task | ERP component | Component window (ms) | Effect of Medications | Behavioral Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aasen et al. | 2018 | 57 (70%) | 7–17 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Cued visual go/no-go task | Early P3 | 378 | ↓amplitude | Enhanced task performance |
| Late P3 | 428 | No change | |||||||||
| Broyd et al. | 2005 | 36 (100%) | 8–14 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Cued auditory go/no-go task | N1 | 70–150 | ↓latency | Enhanced task performance |
| P2 | 150–250 | ↓latency | |||||||||
| N2 | 170–290 | ↓latency | |||||||||
| P3 | 250–500 | ↓amplitude | |||||||||
| Coons et al. | 1987 | 19 (NR) | 6–12 | Ratings exceeded 2 SD on Home Activities Scale (Parent) and Conners Teachers Questionnaire | MPH | Placebo/MPH (blind) | Sternberg task (visual) | P3b | NR | No change | Enhanced task performance |
| Visual CPT task | P3b | NR | ↓latency | Enhanced task performance | |||||||
| Dolu et al. | 2019 | 36 (78%) | 7–12 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Auditory Oddball task | P3 | NR | ↑amplitude | Decrease in parent ratings of ADHD symptoms |
| Fitzpatrick et al. | 1992 | 19 (NR) | 6.9–11.5 | DSM-III | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual CPT task | P3b | NR | ↑amplitude Latency: no change | Enhanced task performance; decrease in parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms |
| Frank | 1993 | 68 (100%) | 7–12 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual ERP test | P3 | 280–380 | No change | - |
| Hermens et al. | 2005 | 68 (82%) | 11–17 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Auditory oddball task | N1 | 70–140 | No change | Enhanced task performance |
| P2 | 210–220 | No change | |||||||||
| N2 | 140–300 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 | 220–550 | ↑amplitude; ↑latency | |||||||||
| Janssen et al. | 2016 | 81 (75%) | 7–13 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Stop Signal task | N2 | 215–265 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced task participants who showed ERP change |
| P3 | 300–400 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Jonkman et al. | 1997 | 18 (89%) | 7–13 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures | Auditory Oddball task | N1 | 50–150 | No change | Enhanced performance on visual task; no change in auditory task |
| N2 | 200–290 | No change | |||||||||
| P2 | 110–250 | No change | |||||||||
| P3b | 400–800 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Visual Oddball task | N1 | 50–150 | No change | ||||||||
| P1 | 50–150 | No change | |||||||||
| N2 | 250–450 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| P2 | 175–230 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 | 275–400 | No change | |||||||||
| P3b | 400–800 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Jonkman et al. | 1999 | 14 (93%) | 7–13 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Eriksen Flanker task (visual) | P2 | 160–300 | No change | Enhanced task performance |
| N2 | 290–450 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 | 400–800 | No change | |||||||||
| Jonkman et al. | 2000 | 14 (93%) | 7–13 | DMS-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Irrelevant probe technique (visual) | N1 | NR | No change | Enhanced task performance |
| P1 | NR | No change | |||||||||
| P2 | NR | No change | |||||||||
| NC | NR | No change | |||||||||
| P3 | NR | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Keage et al. | 2008 | 439 (79%) | 6–17 | DSM-IV-TR | MPH, Dexampheta mine | Repeated measures | One-back working memory task (visual) | N1 | NR | No change | Enhanced task performance |
| P150 | NR | No change | |||||||||
| N300 | NR | No change | |||||||||
| Klorman et al. | 1983 | 27 (70%) | NR | Ratings exceeded 2 SD on two scales | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Oddball task | N140 (auditory) | NR | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| Klorman et al. | 1988 | 63 (NR) | 6–12 | Ratings exceeded 2 SD on two scales | MPH | Repeated measures | CPT task | P3b | NR | ↑amplitude | Decrease in parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms |
| Klorman et al. | 1990 | 53 (92%) | 6–12 | Ratings exceeded 2 SD on two scales | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Multimodal Oddball | N1 auditory | 120-P2 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| N1 visual | 120-P2 | No change | |||||||||
| Klorman et al. | 1992 | 48 (88%) | 12–18 | DSM-III | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Sternberg task (visual) | P3 | 280–700 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| Klorman et al. | 1994 | 107 (85%) | 5.6–11.9 | Ratings exceeded 1.5 SD | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Sternberg task (visual) | P3b | NR | ↑amplitude and latency | Enhanced performance; decrease in parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms |
| Lawrence et al. | 2005 | 36 (100%) | 8–13 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | CPT | N1 | 100–190 | ↑amplitude (normalized to controls) | Enhanced performance; no change in RT |
| Auditory go/no-go task | P2 | 190–250 | No change | ||||||||
| N2 | 200–300 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 | 300–450 | No change | |||||||||
| Lopez et al. | 2004 | 11 (91%) | 9–14 | DSM-IV | D-Amphetamine | Repeated measures | Visual Oddball task; Stroop task | P3 | NR | ↑amplitude | Increased performance on Stroop task |
| Lubar & Swartwood | 1995 | 35 (100%) | 9–11 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Between group comparison (TD, ADHD+meds; ADHD-meds) | Auditory Oddball | N1 | NR | No change in habituation | - |
| N2 | NR | No change in habituation | |||||||||
| P2 | NR | No change in habituation | |||||||||
| P3 | NR | No change in habituation | |||||||||
| Michael et al. | 1981 | 50 (86%) | 5.9–13 | Ratings exceeded 2 SD on two scales | MPH | Repeated measures | Visual CPT | P3 | 200–600 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| Ogrim & Hestad | 2013 | 29 (62%) | 7–16 | DSM-IV | MPH, D-Amphetamine | Random assignment to two treatment groups (medication; neurofeedback) | Visual go/no-go task | P3 | 300–500 | 8 of 12 REs showed ↑amplitude | - |
| Ogrim et al. | 2014 | 98 (67%) | 7–17 | DSM-IV | MPH | Grouped as REs and non-REs | Visual go/no-go task | IC cue P3 | 220–400 | REs > non-REs: amplitude | - |
| IC P3 no-go | 250–470 | REs > non-REs: amplitude | |||||||||
| Ogrim et al. | 2016 | 87 (69%) | 8–17 | DSM-IV | MPH | Grouped as REs and non-REs | Visual go/no-go task | Cue P3 | 270–370 | No change | REs had greater enhanced performance than non-REs |
| P3go | 260–400 | No change | |||||||||
| N2 no-go | 220–330 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 no-go | 300–500 | REs > non-REs: ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Ogrim & Kropotov | 2019 | 87 (69%) | 8–17 | DSM-IV | MPH | Comparison pre meds vs. post meds | Visual go/no-go task | P1 | 100–220 | No change | Differences in omissions and RT variability when comparing no meds to meds |
| Cue-P3 | 270–370 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 go | 260–400 | No change | |||||||||
| N2 no-go | 220–330 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 no-go | 300–500 | REs > non-REs: ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| N1 auditory | 100–170 | No change | |||||||||
| P2 auditory | 170–250 | No change | |||||||||
| Grouped as REs and non-REs | Visual go/no-go task | P1 | 100–220 | Differences in reaction time variability between REs and non-REs | |||||||
| Cue-P3 | 270–370 | ||||||||||
| P3 go | 260–400 | ||||||||||
| N2 no-go | 220–330 | ||||||||||
| P3 no-go | 300–500 | ||||||||||
| N1 auditory | 100–170 | ||||||||||
| P2 auditory | 170–250 | ||||||||||
| Okazaki et al. | 2002 | 19 (100%) | Mean 11 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Visual CPT-AX | P2 | 250 | ↑amplitude (normalized to controls); ↑latency | Enhanced performance |
| P3 | NR | Altered scalp distribution | |||||||||
| Ozdag et al. | 2004 | 46 (100%) | 7–14 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Auditory Oddball task | P1 | NR | ↑amplitude | - |
| N2 | NR | ↓latency | |||||||||
| P3 | NR | ↓latency; ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Paul-Jordanov et al. | 2010 | 27 (89%) | 12.0–12.8 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Visual go/no-go | P3 | 260–328 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| P3 go/no-go difference | ↑amplitude | ||||||||||
| Pliszka et al. | 2007 | 12 (75%) | 9–15 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual Stop Signal Task | Early no-go N200 | 120–170 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| No-go N200 | 170–220 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Early no-go P300 | 300–400 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Late no-go P300 | 400–500 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Prichep et al. | 1976 | 24 (100%) | 8–11 | Obtaining a mean score of 1.5 on the hyperactivity factor on the Conner’s Teacher Rating Scale | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Single/double click guessing paradigm | P50 | NR | No change | |
| N100 | NR | No change | |||||||||
| P200 | NR | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| N250 | NR | ↓amplitude | |||||||||
| P300 | NR | No change | |||||||||
| Rubinson et al. | 2019 | 37 (54%) | 9–17 | DSM-5 | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual go/no-go task | P3 | 250–400 | ↑amplitude | Enhanced performance |
| Sangal & Sangal | 2004 | 20 (60%) | 6–12 | DSM-IV | MPH-XR | Grouped as REs and non-REs | Auditory Oddball Task | P3 | 320–480 | REs> non-REs: frontal:parietal amplitude | Significant differences between REs and non-REs in ADHD rating scores |
| Visual Oddball Task | P3 | 320–480 | REs = non-REs | Significant differences between REs and non-REs in ADHD rating scores | |||||||
| Sangal & Sangal | 2006 | 58 (72%) | 6–14 | DSM-IV | MPH, Atomoxetine | Repeated measures | Auditory and visual oddball | P3 auditory | 320–480 | REs > non-REs: pre-treatment amplitude | |
| Satterfield et al. | 1972 | 52 (NR) | 6–9 | 6 (or more) ADHD symptoms | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo); grouped as REs and non-REs | Auditory task | P2 | 180 | REs > non-REs: peak-to-peak | |
| N2 | 280 | amplitude (P2-N2) | |||||||||
| Seifert et al. | 2003 | 37 (100%) | 7.2–11.7 | ICD-10 | MPH | Repeated measures | Visual CPT-OX | P3a | 257–408 | ↑amplitude (normalized to controls) | |
| Smithee et al. | 1998 | 26 (77%) | 6.5–12 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual discrimination task | P3b | 450–520 | No change | Enhanced task performance; decrease in parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms |
| Sunohara et al. | 1999 | 40 (80%) | 10–12 | Visual CPT | MPH (low and high dose) | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual CPT | N2 | NR | ↑latency at high dose | Enhanced performance at low and high dose MPH |
| P2 | NR | ↑latency at high dose | |||||||||
| P3 | NR | ↓latency at low and high dose | |||||||||
| Taylor et al. | 1993 | 64 (78%) | 7–12 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Visual oddball | P3a | NR | ↓latency (normalized to controls) | No change |
| P3b | NR | ↓latency (normalized to controls) | |||||||||
| Verbaten et al. | 1994 | 12 (83%) | Mean 11.2 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures | Visual CPT-X | N1 | 50–200 | No change | Enhanced performance |
| P2 | 120–250 | No change | |||||||||
| N2 | 250–400 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| P3b | 400–700 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Williams et al. | 2008 | 102 (100%) | 8–17 | DSM-IV | MPH | Repeated measures | Facial emotion recognition task | P120 | 80–150 | ↑amplitude | Improved ratings for emotional instability and |
| P300 | 300–400 | ↓latency | hyperactivity | ||||||||
| Winsberg et al. | 1997 | 28 (NR) | 7–12 | DSM-III-R | MPH | Repeated measures (placebo) | Auditory oddball | N1 | 50–150 | No change | Enhanced performance; Improved ADHD symptom ratings |
| N2 | 150–250 | No change | |||||||||
| P2 | 150–250 | No change | |||||||||
| P3 | 250–550 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| Zillessen et al. | 2001 | 17 (100%) | 7–11 | ICD-10 | MPH | Repeated measures | Visual CPT (modified) | P1 | 51–164 | No change | - |
| P2 | 164–257 | No change | |||||||||
| P3a | 257–408 | ↑amplitude | |||||||||
| P3b | 408–527 | No change |
Note. ERP=Event related potential; DSM=Diagnostical and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; ICD-10=International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition; ADHD=Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; MPH=Methylphenidate (immediate release); MPH-XR=Methylphenidate extended release; REs=responders; non-REs=non-responders; CPT=continuous performance task; TD=typically developing participants; NR=not reported; we omit results from ERP components that occur after the P300 (e.g., CNV). Component labels are reported as published