The utilization of physiological biomarkers for predicting treatment response to pharmaceutical interventions in ADHD and autism
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Meeting name
Sponsors
Date
Journal Title
Format
Thesis
Subject
Abstract
This dissertation investigates the utility of physiological biomarkers, specifically heart rate variability (HRV), in predicting pharmacologic treatment response in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three complementary studies were conducted to examine divergent and convergent thinking in ADHD, Heart rate variability (HRV) use in predict stimulant-induced creative performance, and HRV predicting propranolol response in ASD. In a within-subject study of adults with ADHD, stimulant medications significantly enhanced divergent thinking performance on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, while convergent task performance remained unchanged. A follow-up study examined whether baseline HRV predicted the degree of stimulant-induced creativity gains. Although primary time-domain HRV metrics did not significantly predict divergent creativity changes, exploratory analyses identified frequency-domain indices as potential predictors of creative cognition. In a third study of children and young adults with ASD, baseline HRV indices significantly predicted behavioral improvements on the Autism Impact Measure (AIM) in domains of communication and atypical behavior following propranolol treatment, though no significant predictors emerged for clinician-rated anxiety outcomes. Collectively, these findings suggest that HRV may serve as a non-invasive biomarker for characterizing individual differences in autonomic function relevant to treatment responsiveness, offering preliminary support for its role in personalized approaches to pharmacological interventions in ADHD and ASD.
Table of Contents
PubMed ID
Degree
Ph. D.