# Defining Embodied Characteristics of Decision Making in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2021 · $38,440

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is well-characterized in terms of cognitive deficits (e.g., executive
function and cognitive control), but defects in perceptual and motor functions are also frequent characteristics of
the condition. These functions present an important avenue for research because perception and action occur
upstream and downstream, respectively, of canonical high-level impairments. Basic research to date has
provided the methodological and theoretical foundations necessary to study these integrated processes, and
several paradigms now exist under an embodied choice framework—describing the processes by which decision
making computations can be revealed through, and retroactively influenced by, movement characteristics (e.g.,
during reaching movements towards competing choices). Many individuals with ADHD exhibit motor
hyperactivity and other motor symptoms (e.g., reaction time variability), making this study well-suited for a better
understanding of the cognition-action pathways underlying psychopathology. Additionally, it has been shown by
work in my co-sponsor’s laboratory (Dr. Julie Schweitzer) that movement can confer cognitive benefits to children
with ADHD performing cognitive control tasks. Aim 1 is an investigation into the potential benefit of movement
conveyed to adults with ADHD during a temporal discrimination task (i.e., a two-alternative forced choice
long/short discrimination of a range of durations). A previous study in our laboratory utilized this paradigm and
showed that healthy young volunteers benefited from concurrent movement during temporal discrimination. In
this Aim, bridging work from my sponsors’ laboratories (Drs. Joiner and Schweitzer), we hypothesize that the
beneficial effect of movement will be larger in individuals with ADHD. In Aim 2, we will observe how movement
reflects the parallel evaluation of two integrated stimulus dimensions that converge on a single choice in a four-
alternative forced choice task. Here the stimulus dimensions map directly onto physical dimensions; the targets
are arranged in a square array equidistant from the start location. This novel task design will allow us to observe
in real-time (via the movement trajectory) the way that stimulus uncertainty and viewing time guide choice. Each
stimulus will always have one high-certainty dimension (i.e., easy) and one low-certainty (i.e., difficult) dimension
(within-subject). We hypothesize that initial movement directions will reflect prioritization of the high-certainty
dimension (i.e., biased toward the relevant Cartesian axis). The task will first be developed in healthy controls
before its application to the ADHD and matched control groups from Aim 1. In the matched ADHD and control
task, we hypothesize that individuals with ADHD will be less effective at prioritizing high-certainty information,
and thus, initial movements will be less likely to cluster around the high certainty axis. This interdisc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10316100
- **Project number:** 1F31MH128150-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Rose V De Kock
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $38,440
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-01-01 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10316100

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10316100, Defining Embodied Characteristics of Decision Making in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (1F31MH128150-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10316100. Licensed CC0.

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