# Sleep Dysfunction and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Adolescent ADHD

> **NIH NIH K23** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $52,660

## Abstract

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adolescence is frequently predictive of detrimental academic
and social outcomes. In part, poor functioning may be due to neurocognitive deficits observed in ADHD;
however, the extent of these deficits is variable and the mechanisms contributing to greater impairment in
some youth and not others are poorly understood. Sleep disturbance represents one potential contributor to
the neurocognitive deficits observed in a subset of youth with ADHD. Specifically, disturbed sleep is prevalent
in ADHD and there is considerable overlap between core ADHD features and the neurocognitive correlates of
sleep impairment. However, associations between sleep physiology and variable clinical and neurocognitive
outcomes in adolescents with ADHD have yet to be investigated. The parent project uses polysomnography to
assess sleep disturbance and neurocognitive outcomes in adolescents with ADHD and healthy controls (HC).
The primary hypothesis predicts that adolescents with ADHD will display reduced duration, increased latency,
increased nocturnal awakenings, reduced delta power, and disrupted sleep spindles compared to HC.
Variability within groups is predicted, and we will explore whether there are distinct subgroups with and without
sleep problems within the ADHD group. In addition, sleep disturbance is predicted to be associated with poorer
neurocognitive and clinical presentations in adolescents with ADHD. If these hypotheses are supported, sleep
disturbance may represent a biomarker for phenotypic subtypes of ADHD. Examining this construct may also
inform development of prevention and intervention strategies with the potential to impact sleep disturbance and
core symptoms of ADHD in adolescents. The career development goal of the parent K23 Mentored Patient-
Oriented Research Career Development Award is to broaden Dr. Jessica Lunsford-Avery's expertise in sleep
disturbance and neurocognition in adolescents with ADHD. Training objectives include gaining expertise in
advanced laboratory-based administration, scoring, and analysis of polysomnographic data; assessment of
neurocognitive and clinical correlates of sleep impairment in ADHD; and enhanced understanding of
developmental trajectories of sleep in typically developing adolescents and those with ADHD. These objectives
are underway through mentoring, research, and coursework, which will result in an independently funded
program of research to elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying sleep problems and neurocognitive
impairment in ADHD and develop innovative sleep-based interventions targeting core symptoms in this
population. The proposed supplement addresses both research and career development objectives and will
allow for 1) provision of essential training in scoring of polysomnographic data for spectral analysis and
translational research, 2) data processing and analysis, and 3) preparation of manuscripts and R01 grant
applications. Moreover, the pro...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10456382
- **Project number:** 3K23MH108704-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jessica Ruth Lunsford-Avery
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $52,660
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10456382

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10456382, Sleep Dysfunction and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Adolescent ADHD (3K23MH108704-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10456382. Licensed CC0.

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