Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Background: Beside the core symptoms, patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently show relevant difficulty in developing relationships with peers. Although ADHD symptoms may account for social impairment, deficits in cognitive and/or affective empathy have also been invo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/596 |
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| author | Pamela Fantozzi Pietro Muratori Maria Celeste Caponi Valentina Levantini Cristina Nardoni Chiara Pfanner Federica Ricci Gianluca Sesso Annalisa Tacchi Annarita Milone Gabriele Masi |
| author_facet | Pamela Fantozzi Pietro Muratori Maria Celeste Caponi Valentina Levantini Cristina Nardoni Chiara Pfanner Federica Ricci Gianluca Sesso Annalisa Tacchi Annarita Milone Gabriele Masi |
| author_sort | Pamela Fantozzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Beside the core symptoms, patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently show relevant difficulty in developing relationships with peers. Although ADHD symptoms may account for social impairment, deficits in cognitive and/or affective empathy have also been involved. Our aim was to investigate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment on affective and cognitive empathy. Methods: Sixty-one drug-naïve youths with ADHD (age range 6 to 17 years, mean 10.3 ± 2.8 years, 51 males) naturalistically treated with MPH monotherapy were followed up for 6 months for ADHD symptoms and empathy, measured with the Basic Empathy Scale. Results: After being treated with MPH, the patients showed a significant improvement in affective and cognitive empathy scores. Linear regression models showed that changes in inattention symptoms predicted changes in affective but not in cognitive empathy, while changes in the hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms did not predict changes in affective or cognitive empathy. Conclusions: Our study provides a further contribution for a better understanding of the possible effects of the MPH on youth’s characteristics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:42:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c1eedce121e46ffb0b506fa3ae490dd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:42:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c1eedce121e46ffb0b506fa3ae490dd2023-11-22T03:31:57ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672021-07-018759610.3390/children8070596Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity DisorderPamela Fantozzi0Pietro Muratori1Maria Celeste Caponi2Valentina Levantini3Cristina Nardoni4Chiara Pfanner5Federica Ricci6Gianluca Sesso7Annalisa Tacchi8Annarita Milone9Gabriele Masi10IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyIRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, 56128 Pisa, ItalyBackground: Beside the core symptoms, patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently show relevant difficulty in developing relationships with peers. Although ADHD symptoms may account for social impairment, deficits in cognitive and/or affective empathy have also been involved. Our aim was to investigate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment on affective and cognitive empathy. Methods: Sixty-one drug-naïve youths with ADHD (age range 6 to 17 years, mean 10.3 ± 2.8 years, 51 males) naturalistically treated with MPH monotherapy were followed up for 6 months for ADHD symptoms and empathy, measured with the Basic Empathy Scale. Results: After being treated with MPH, the patients showed a significant improvement in affective and cognitive empathy scores. Linear regression models showed that changes in inattention symptoms predicted changes in affective but not in cognitive empathy, while changes in the hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms did not predict changes in affective or cognitive empathy. Conclusions: Our study provides a further contribution for a better understanding of the possible effects of the MPH on youth’s characteristics.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/596attention deficit hyperactivity disordersocial impairmentcognitive empathyaffective empathymethylphenidate |
| spellingShingle | Pamela Fantozzi Pietro Muratori Maria Celeste Caponi Valentina Levantini Cristina Nardoni Chiara Pfanner Federica Ricci Gianluca Sesso Annalisa Tacchi Annarita Milone Gabriele Masi Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Children attention deficit hyperactivity disorder social impairment cognitive empathy affective empathy methylphenidate |
| title | Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
| title_full | Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
| title_fullStr | Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
| title_short | Treatment with Methylphenidate Improves Affective but Not Cognitive Empathy in Youths with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
| title_sort | treatment with methylphenidate improves affective but not cognitive empathy in youths with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder |
| topic | attention deficit hyperactivity disorder social impairment cognitive empathy affective empathy methylphenidate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/596 |
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