Neural responses to global and local visual information processing provide neural signatures of ADHD symptoms

Individuals with ADHD are thought to exhibit a reduced “global bias” in perceptual processing. This bias, found in typically developed individuals, characterizes the tendency to prioritize global over local information processing. However, the relationship between specific ADHD symptoms and global or local processing remains unclear. This study addresses this gap by employing an ensemble perception task with a large sample (N = 465). EEG recordings allowed for the isolation of neural responses to individual and global stimuli using linear regression modeling. The adult ADHD self-report scale was used to assess ADHD symptoms. The results showed a significant association between ensemble perception and early responses to global stimuli. Furthermore, inattention symptoms were associated with early responses to global stimuli, suggesting a reduced global prioritization in individuals with higher inattention scores. Moreover, inattention symptom was associated with later responses to local stimuli, as shown by attenuated neural responses to local stimuli in individuals with more severe symptoms. These findings provide insights that ADHD includes deficits in both global and local processing, challenging earlier theories that focused solely on global processing impairments.