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Abstract:
The aim of the study is to determine whether the application of a real time feedback training can effectively improve executive and attentional control in
subjects with and without attentional deficits. The (dorsal) Anterior Cingulate Cortex is known to be a functional key structure in critical cognitive processes
such as reward based decision making, error monitoring, motor control and executive control of attention (e.g. Carter \& vanVeen, 2007 for review). Volumetric and functional abnormalities in the dorsolateral prefrontal and
anterior cingulate cortex have been reported in functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging studies on adults (e.g. Seidman et al. 2006), adolescents and children (e.g. Konrad et al. 2006) with ADHD. By now, several studies using real time fMRI feedback have shown that individuals are able to acquire stable self control BOLD-activity in various parts of the brain (Weiskopf et al. 2007). A group of 16 healthy volunteers was randomly selected from a
student sample and diagnosed for (subclinical) ADHD. Subjects were subsequently tested in a Go/NoGo task before and after an ACC real time fMRI feedback training. Most subjects gained stable control over their ACC activation after an intensive one day training. An ever more increased and more focused ACC activation during regulation trials was established over time. The mean Go/NoGo performance was significantly improved after successful acquisition of regulatory control of the ACC.
