Author(s)

Reza Koiler^1,2, Austin Schimmel², Elham Bakhshipour^1,2, Patricia A. Shewokis³, Nancy Getchell^1,2*

¹Biomechanics and Movement Sciences Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
²Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
³Nutrition Sciences Department, College of Nursing and Health Professions, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, School of Education, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA.

Fidget spinners have been marketed as repetitive motion devices that improve attention and motor performance, and as such, they have become quite appealing to individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). To date, no studies have explored changes in brain activity that may occur due to fidgeting in ADHD. Our aim was to use functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the performance of a standardized fine motor skills test after using a fidget spinner. Eight right-handed adults with ADHD and eight age and gender matched adults without ADHD (4F/4M, 4 control/4 fidget) performed the Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) while their brain oxygenation was monitored using fNIRS. Relative neural efficiency (RNE) and involvement (RNI) were calculated and analyzed for all subtasks of PPT including the less cognitively demanding fine motor subtasks and more complex assembly tasks. The fidget spinner improved both task performance and RNE in the ADHD group but not the non-ADHD group for the less cognitively demanding subtasks. Our results indicate Fidget spinners may improve both relative neural efficiency and fine motor performance in adults with ADHD for less cognitively demanding tasks.

Fidget Spinners, fNIRS, ADHD, Executive Function, Motor Skill

Koiler, R. , Schimmel, A. , Bakhshipour, E. , Shewokis, P. and Getchell, N. (2022) The Impact of Fidget Spinners on Fine Motor Skills in Individuals with and without ADHD: An Exploratory Analysis. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 12, 82-101. doi: 10.4236/jbbs.2022.123005.