Evaluation of the effectiveness of comprehensive yoga protocol training on selective attention, response inhibition and interference control in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of comprehensive yoga protocol training on selective attention, response inhibition, and interference control in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population was all-male elementary school students in Mianeh city in the academic year 2018-2019. The sample consisted of 40 subjects selected by the multistage cluster sampling method (with Children Symptom Inventory-4 Test (CSI-4) parental form) and was randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Both pre and post-test stages were evaluated with the software version of the Stroop test. The experimental group participated in 6 months of yoga training as a package (breathing programs, Asana Practice, relaxation, mental imagery, and meditation), and the control group not. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results showed yoga training significantly decreased "Interference number, Test time, Error number, Reaction time" and increased "True number" in the experimental group in both congruent and incongruent situations in the post-test (p <0.05).Yoga training has been effective in improving selective attention, response inhibition, and controlling interference in children with ADHD. Therefore, yoga can be used to design non-pharmacological treatments such as yoga therapy to treat children with ADHD symptoms and disorders