The Development of a Quantitative Electroencephalographic Scanning Process for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder: Reliability and Validity Studies.

Monastra VJ, Lubar JF, Linden M.

The development of a quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) based procedure for use in the assessment of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was examined through a series of studies investigating test reliability and validation issues. This process, involving a spectral analysis of the electrophysiological power output from a single, midline, central location (the vertex), was conducted in 469 participants, 6 to 20 years of age, classified as ADHD, inattentive type; ADHD, combined type; or control. The results indicated that the QEEG scanning procedure was reliable (r=.96), was consistent with the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale (S.B. McCarney, 1995) and the Test of Variables of Attention (L.M. Greenberg, 1994; chi-square, p<.01), and differentiated participants with ADHD from nonclinical control group (p<.001). The sensitivity of the QEEG-derived attentional index was 90%; the specificity was 94%.