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Online measurement of motivational processes: introducing the continuous delay aversion test (ConDAT) (in Special issue 'Towards a Neuroscience of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)')

Online measurement of motivational processes: introducing the continuous delay aversion test (ConDAT) (in Special issue 'Towards a Neuroscience of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)')
Online measurement of motivational processes: introducing the continuous delay aversion test (ConDAT) (in Special issue 'Towards a Neuroscience of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)')
The Continuous Delay Aversion Test (ConDAT), a new computer task for online monitoring and continuously measuring delay aversion (DA), is introduced. DA is a motivational style related to a shortened delay gradient which is proposed as a major endophenotype of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is characterised by avoiding or escaping from delay-rich situations despite the prospects of a reward. In each ConDAT trial the rapidly diminishing reward/delay ratio, which tends asymptotically towards zero, is visually presented on the computer screen. The test subject is permanently confronted with the question whether to quit or to continue the trial in the face of the deteriorating reward/time ratio. An elaborated control of stimuli and responses, including the sending of trigger codes to external recording devices, makes the task useful for neurophysiological or brain imaging experiments. Compared to existing tasks, the ConDAT is more flexible and sensitive due to its asymptotic open-ended trials and the interval-scaled output measure. Pilot data give evidence for satisfactory reliability and external validity of the task.
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delay aversion, motivation, endophenotypes, neuropsychology, neurophysiology
0165-0270
45-51
Müller, Ueli C.
966b8269-faa1-4d9c-b4e5-df81a9c5be89
Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S.
bc80bf95-6cf9-4c76-a09d-eaaf0b717635
Brandeis, Daniel
58d13628-f513-4af5-822c-7401cf5dbfd4
Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph
991ad7f9-c5d1-4c61-8118-3d4895d2706d
Castellanos, F.X.
c832541f-fe47-4c68-bd70-07da14340cf7
Glaser, P.E.A.
0e55ecef-5e6f-46a1-b9e0-adeda0abace5
Gerhardt, G.A.
fea2ff44-2304-4fc9-b0cf-a7a1cc3ec4bf
Müller, Ueli C.
966b8269-faa1-4d9c-b4e5-df81a9c5be89
Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S.
bc80bf95-6cf9-4c76-a09d-eaaf0b717635
Brandeis, Daniel
58d13628-f513-4af5-822c-7401cf5dbfd4
Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph
991ad7f9-c5d1-4c61-8118-3d4895d2706d
Castellanos, F.X.
c832541f-fe47-4c68-bd70-07da14340cf7
Glaser, P.E.A.
0e55ecef-5e6f-46a1-b9e0-adeda0abace5
Gerhardt, G.A.
fea2ff44-2304-4fc9-b0cf-a7a1cc3ec4bf

Müller, Ueli C., Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S., Brandeis, Daniel and Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph , Castellanos, F.X., Glaser, P.E.A. and Gerhardt, G.A. (eds.) (2006) Online measurement of motivational processes: introducing the continuous delay aversion test (ConDAT) (in Special issue 'Towards a Neuroscience of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)'). Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 151 (1), 45-51. (doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2005.10.022).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Continuous Delay Aversion Test (ConDAT), a new computer task for online monitoring and continuously measuring delay aversion (DA), is introduced. DA is a motivational style related to a shortened delay gradient which is proposed as a major endophenotype of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is characterised by avoiding or escaping from delay-rich situations despite the prospects of a reward. In each ConDAT trial the rapidly diminishing reward/delay ratio, which tends asymptotically towards zero, is visually presented on the computer screen. The test subject is permanently confronted with the question whether to quit or to continue the trial in the face of the deteriorating reward/time ratio. An elaborated control of stimuli and responses, including the sending of trigger codes to external recording devices, makes the task useful for neurophysiological or brain imaging experiments. Compared to existing tasks, the ConDAT is more flexible and sensitive due to its asymptotic open-ended trials and the interval-scaled output measure. Pilot data give evidence for satisfactory reliability and external validity of the task.

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More information

Published date: 15 February 2006
Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delay aversion, motivation, endophenotypes, neuropsychology, neurophysiology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 48261
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/48261
ISSN: 0165-0270
PURE UUID: 4df79ba2-41b7-49dd-977c-a769cb8cac2a

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Date deposited: 07 Sep 2007
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 09:44

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Contributors

Author: Ueli C. Müller
Author: Edmund J.S. Sonuga-Barke
Author: Daniel Brandeis
Author: Hans-Christoph Steinhausen
Editor: F.X. Castellanos
Editor: P.E.A. Glaser
Editor: G.A. Gerhardt

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