Overview
- Researchers recorded EEG while 32 medication-withdrawn adults with ADHD and 31 neurotypical adults performed a sustained-attention task with intermittent mind-state probes.
- Adults with ADHD showed a higher density of local slow waves during wakefulness along with increased theta over fronto-temporal sites and greater slow-wave density over parieto-temporal regions.
- Greater slow-wave activity correlated with more omission and commission errors, slower and more variable reaction times, higher subjective sleepiness, and more mind-wandering and mind-blanking reports.
- Mediation analyses indicated that slow-wave density accounted for group differences in attention and vigilance, supporting a mechanistic link between arousal dysregulation and ADHD-related lapses.
- Investigators propose testing nocturnal auditory stimulation to boost deep-sleep slow waves as a potential non-drug approach, noting the idea remains unproven in ADHD and requires replication and intervention trials; the authors reported no competing financial interests.