Hyperactivity in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): The role of executive and non-executive functions.
Working-memory load is the main trigger of hyperactivity in boys with ADHD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ohan et al. (2015) watched boys with ADHD and typical boys while they worked on tasks.
The team used wrist actigraphy to count every small move.
Tasks varied: some needed working memory, others did not.
What they found
ADHD boys moved far more than controls.
Movement jumped highest when working-memory load grew.
Non-executive tasks produced little extra activity.
How this fits with other research
Capodieci et al. (2018) extends the idea: handwriting speed and legibility only worsened when a verbal memory load was added.
Little et al. (2015) ties visuospatial working-memory weakness to more impulsive choices in the same age group.
Johnson et al. (2009) seems to clash: only 1 of 9 combined-type boys showed high activity all day. The gap is setting. The target tested short lab tasks; A et al. tracked 24-hour free life. Hyperactivity shows up when you tax the brain, not always when you watch all day.
Blanco-Martínez et al. (2025) meta-analysis agrees: kids with ADHD move less skillfully overall, so motor checks belong in every plan.
Why it matters
Before you call a boy hyperactive, look at the task. If it strains working memory, expect extra moves. Break the task, add visual cues, or cut verbal load. Less load, less movement, more learning.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Motor activity of boys (age 8-12 years) with (n=19) and without (n=18) ADHD was objectively measured with actigraphy across experimental conditions that varied with regard to demands on executive functions. Activity exhibited during two n-back (1-back, 2-back) working memory tasks was compared to activity during a choice-reaction time (CRT) task that placed relatively fewer demands on executive processes and during a simple reaction time (SRT) task that required mostly automatic processing with minimal executive demands. Results indicated that children in the ADHD group exhibited greater activity compared to children in the non-ADHD group. Further, both groups exhibited the greatest activity during conditions with high working memory demands, followed by the reaction time and control task conditions, respectively. The findings indicate that large-magnitude increases in motor activity are predominantly associated with increased demands on working memory, though demands on non-executive processes are sufficient to elicit small to moderate increases in motor activity as well.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.07.012