Research Activities

Research participants: Please contact the CRC Principal Investigator if you have any questions about the research you participated in, or if you would like to have your data withdrawn from further analysis of the collected data.

CRC Principal Investigator: Gail Tripp
Phone: 098-966-8814/8812
E-mail: adhd@oist.jp, tripp@oist.jp
Address: OIST Lab 4 Level C, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan 904-0495

1. Role of reinforcement in ADHD

Summary: The research aims to clarify the nature and extent of altered reinforcement sensitivity in children displaying symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of DSM-IV/DSM-5 ADHD (referred to as children with ADHD). The studies examine how children respond to rewards (e.g., being praised, winning points) and response cost/punishments (e.g., having points taken away).

More specifically, we are investigating:

How delays in reward/feedback affect children’s learning.
How children respond/attend to cues that predict reward and to reward delivery.
How discontinuation of reward affects children’s behavior.
Whether these response patterns differ in children who demonstrate difficulties with inattention, overactivity and/or impulsivity.

Studies are approved by the OIST Human Subjects Review Committee under the following protocol names:

HSR-2020-032 Investigating sign tracking and goal tracking behavior in children with and without ADHD
HSR-2020-022 Effects of extinction of reinforcement on the behavior of children with and without ADHD
HSR-2008-001 Reinforcement sensitivity, working memory, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD):

Below are collaborators on these studies. They help develop tasks, collect and process data. They do not have access to personal information of research participants.

Prof. Jeff Wickens, OIST, Japan
Prof. Brent Alsop, University of Otago, NZ
Dr. Heloisa Alves, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, US
Prof. Saskia Van der Oord and Prof. Tom Beckers, Ms. An-Katrien Hulsbosch, KU Leuven, Belgium
Dr. Hasse de Meyer, HELP University, Malaysia.
Prof. Egas Caparelli-Daquer, Federal University of State of Rio de Janeiro/University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Prof. Erasmo Barbante Casella, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Prof. Paulo Mattos, D’Or Institute Research and Education, Brazil.

II. Effects of reinforcement on learning, heavior, and emotional reactions among childrewn with ADHD

Summary: We are conducting studies that examine:

How the frequency of reward affects children’s learning, and how children react to when they receive and don’t receive expected rewards.
How children learn when correct responses differ depending on the context.
How response cost (losing points) influences children’s behavior.

Studies are approved by the OIST Human Subjects Review Committee under the following protocol names:

HSR-2020-031 Effects of reinforcement schedule on learning and emotional reactions among children with and without ADHD
HSR-2021-033 Effects of mild punishment on behavior and emotional reactions among children with and without ADHD
HSR-2022-015 Conditional discrimination learning and emotional reactivity among children with and without ADHD

Below are collaborators on these studies. They help develop tasks, collect and process data. They do not have access to personal information of research participants.

Prof. Saskia Van der Oord and Prof. Tom Beckers, Ms. An-Katrien Hulsbosch, KU Leuven, Belgium
Dr. Hasse de Meyer, HELP University, Malaysia.
Prof. Brent Alsop, University of Otago, NZ

III. Language skills in children with and without ADHD

Summary: We are conducting a study that examines:

Children's verbal and non-verbal skills
Children's ability to monitor and repair their language during social interactions

Study is approved by the OIST Human Subjects Review Committee under the following protocol name:

HSR-2021-008 Monitoring and repair in social and narrative discourse in children with and without ADHD

IV. Social functioning of children with and without ADHD

Summary: We are conducting a study that examines:

How children expect other children to behave in social situations
How children allocate responsibility for what happens

Study is approved by the OIST Human Subjects Review Committee under the following protocol name:

HSR-2022-024 Social functioning in children with and without ADHD: Expectaions of others and allocation of responsibility

V. Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Incorporating community feedback in developing parent training program

Summary: CBPR is a research approach aimed at engaging researchers and community members as partners at all stages of the research process to educate, improve support or effect societal change. The purpose of this research is to develop parent training with the following features, together with stakeholders in Japanese communities.

Parent training that is accessible and acceptable
Parent training that can be carried out in the community
Parent training that is effective for children who demonstrate inattention and/or hyperactive/impulsive tendencies

Study is approved by the OIST Human Subjects Review Committee under the following protocol name:

HSR-2022-016 Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Incorporating community feedback in developing parent training program

Dr. Aya Kasai at the Miyazaki International College is a collaborator on this project. She helps collect data and manages personal informatin of research participants.

VI. Development of measurement tools for altered reinforcement sensitivity in ADHD

Summary: The purpose of the research is to develop tools to evaluate 1) the sensitivity to reward and punishement of children with ADHD (questionnaire) and 2) children's preferences for types and timing of rewards (computer-based choice task). The opinions of experts, as well as parents and children, will be incorporatedin the development of the questionnaire and the task.

Study is approved by the OIST Human Subjects Review Committee under the following protocol name:

HSR-2023-018 Development of Measurement Tools for Altered Reinforcement Sensitivity in ADHD