Effects of stimulant medication on divergent and convergent thinking tasks related to creativity in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

RATIONALE: Common pharmacological treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are central nervous system stimulants acting as norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors. The noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems have been shown to impact performance on tasks assessing creativity. Some previous studies suggest higher performance on creativity tasks in ADHD. Stimulant medication has been shown to differentially impact creativity in those without ADHD. However, the full range of effects of stimulant medication on creativity in those with ADHD is not known. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of stimulants on convergent and divergent tasks associated with creativity in adults with ADHD. METHOD: Seventeen adults diagnosed with ADHD who were prescribed stimulant medication attended two counterbalanced sessions: one after taking their prescribed stimulant dose and one after the dose was withheld. Participants completed convergent problem-solving (anagrams, Compound Remote Associates) and divergent generative (letter/semantic fluency, Torrance Test for Creative Thinking (TTCT)-Verbal) tasks. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in words generated on the semantic fluency task for the stimulant session. Additionally, significant increases were found in the stimulant session for originality, flexibility, and fluency scores on the TTCT. Stimulant medication did not have an effect on any of the problem-solving tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Stimulant medication enhanced verbal fluency in adults with ADHD but had no effect on convergent abilities. Furthermore, stimulants enhanced fluency, flexibility, and originality scores on the TTCT. Therefore, stimulants appear to have positive effects on divergent task performance in adults with ADHD, but not convergent tasks. This finding warrants further studies into the specific roles of norepinephrine and dopamine in this effect.

Clinical outcomes of resecting scarpa's ganglion during vestibular schwannoma surgery.

Vestibular schwannomas are slow-growing tumors arising from the Schwann cells of the vestibular nerve. Scarpa's ganglion, the vestibular nerve ganglion, is located within the internal auditory meatus. Surgical treatment of vestibular schwannomas carries the potential of resecting Scarpa's ganglion along with the tumor. No prior studies have evaluated outcomes based on the presence of Scarpa's ganglion within tumor specimens. The neurosurgery patient records were queried for patients who underwent surgical resection of vestibular schwannomas at the University of Missouri Healthcare between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2018. Inclusion criteria consisted of minimum age of 18, imaging demonstrating an eighth nerve tumor, surgical resection thereof, and a final pathological diagnosis of WHO grade I schwannoma. Data were collected retrospectively. The histological slides of the tumors were reviewed, and the presence or absence of the ganglion was noted. Outcomes analyzed included postoperative dizziness, hearing, and facial nerve function. Fifty-two patients met inclusion criteria. Ten (19%) resected tumors contained portions of the ganglion. No difference in risk of resection of ganglion occurred based on the surgical approach (p = 0.2454). Mean follow-up duration was 24.6 months ± 26.2 standard deviation. No differences in postoperative hearing or dizziness (p = 0.8483 and p = 0.3190 respectively) were present if Scarpa's ganglion was resected. House-Brackmann classification of facial nerve function at last follow-up was similar (p = 0.9190). Resection of Scarpa's ganglion with vestibular schwannomas does not increase risk of post-operative dizziness, facial nerve weakness, or hearing loss.