BACKGROUND Most research on motivational processes in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been undertaken in Western Europe and North America. The extent to which these findings apply to other cultural groups is unclear. The current study evaluated the behavioral sensitivity of Japanese children with and without ADHD to changing reward availability. Forty-one school-aged children, 19 diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD, completed a signal-detection task in which correct discriminations between two stimuli were associated with different reinforcement frequencies. The response alternative associated with the higher rate of reinforcement switched twice during the task without warning. FINDINGS Both groups of children developed an initial bias toward the more frequently reinforced response alternative. When the reward contingencies switched the response allocation (bias) of the control group children followed suit. The response bias scores of the children with ADHD did not, suggesting impaired tracking of reward availability over time. CONCLUSIONS Japanese children with ADHD adjust their behavioral responses to changing reinforcer availability less than their typically developing peers. This is not explained by poor attention to task or a lack of sensitivity to reward. The current results are consistent with altered sensitivity to changing reward contingencies identified in non-Japanese samples of children with ADHD. Irrespective of their country of origin, children with ADHD will likely benefit from behavioral expectations and reinforcement contingencies being made explicit together with high rates of reinforcement for appropriate behaviors.

中文翻译：

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患有和不患有ADHD的日本儿童对增强剂有效性的行为敏感性：一项使用信号检测方法的实验研究。

背景技术在注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）中的动机过程的大多数研究已经在西欧和北美进行。这些发现适用于其他文化群体的程度尚不清楚。本研究评估了有或没有多动症的日本儿童对改变奖励可获得性的行为敏感性。41名学龄儿童，其中19名被诊断为DSM-IV ADHD，完成了信号检测任务，其中正确区分两种刺激与不同的强化频率相关。在任务执行过程中，与更高的增强率相关的响应选项在两次更改时均未发出警告。结果两组儿童对更频繁的强化反应选择都有初步的偏见。当奖励突发事件切换时，对照组儿童的响应分配（偏见）也随之效仿。ADHD患儿的反应偏倚评分没有，表明随着时间的流逝，对奖励可用性的追踪能力下降。结论日本多动症儿童对行为变化的反应比普通儿童要少。这不能通过对任务的关注不足或对奖励缺乏敏感性来解释。目前的结果与对非日本多动症儿童样本中发现的奖励意外发生的敏感性改变有关。无论原籍国如何，患有多动症的儿童都可能会受益于明确的行为期望和强化意外情况，以及对适当行为的高强化率。