inhibitory control

This study aimed at determining the effect of forehead cortex electric current stimulation on inhibitory control and working memory in people with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), using TDCS device. The method used was quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest control group design. The participants were 24 children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder aged 7-11 who referred to Baqiyatallah Hospital in 1397. Children were randomly divided into experimental (n = 12) and control (n = 12) groups. The experimental group was intervened in 10 sessions, 3 times a week, and each session was 20 minutes. Assessments were performed in 3 steps, a day before the intervention, and a day after the intervention ended, and finally at the follow-up phase, two months after the intervention was accomplished. Go/no Go and N-back tests were used to evaluate inhibitory control and working memory, respectively.  A repeated measurement method was applied to analyze the data. Findings revealed that brain electric stimulation program improves working memory and inhibitory control in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Therefore, brain electric stimulation program can be used to enhance the working memory and inhibitory control of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

This study investigates problematic smartphone attachment under conditions of short-term smartphone separation. Two experimental studies with randomized group allocation were designed to investigate effects of smartphone separation on anxiety and inhibitory control. Problematic smartphone use pathways were explored using a self-report measure. In the first experiment (N= 85) smartphone addicted participants showed an increase in state anxiety after 20 min of separation from their smartphones compared to a control group of non-addicted participants. There was no evidence for impaired inhibitory control based on a period of smartphone separation. In the second experiment the methodology was slightly varied, and the participants (N= 95) were provided with a task during a smartphone separation of 15 min. This led to a reduction of state anxiety for problematic attached participants but did not result in a change for unproblematic attached participants. Problematic attached participants showed a larger disturbance in inhibitory control undergoing a separation period than unproblematic attached participants. Moreover, the results provide supplementary evidence for the existence of specific problematic smartphone attachment pathways and further variables.