Decision making and working memory: Normally achieving andADHD children

This study examined whether ADHD children show impulsivity in decision making and whether there is a relationship between their modality of decision making as measured by a concurrent memory load procedure (Logan, 1979) and decision making that allow short-term over long-term consequences of action (Hinson, Jameson, & Whitney, 2003). 32 children (14 ADHD children and 18 normally achieving children of 9 and 10 year-olds) participated to the experiment. They made delay discounting (DD) judgments under different working memory load conditions (without, half, full). The results showed that higher working memory load led to greater discounting of delayed monetary rewards in all subjects. Further, under these conditions ADHD subjects show a stronger effect in terms of impulsivity. The results suggest that limits on WM function, either intrinsic or extrinsic, are predictive of a more impulsive decision-making style.