The ADHD Effort Paradox: Lagun’s Law Models Structural Effort Regulation

The ADHD Effort Paradox: Lagun’s Law Models Structural Effort Regulation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The ADHD Effort Paradox: Lagun’s Law Models Structural Effort Regulation Nikesh Lagun This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7162397/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective: Individuals with ADHD often report wanting to act but stalling, producing brief bursts of effort, and disengaging when novelty fades. Symptom and executive models describe impairments but not the real-time mechanics of these effort swings. We evaluated a structural effort framework, Lagunian Dynamics, within the Cognitive Drive Architecture (CDA). Method: Six variables were derived: Primode (initiation), CAP (burst mobilization), Anchory (sustain span), Grain (transition cost), Flexion (novelty/decay), and Slip (variability). Minute-level wearable actigraphy from the HYPERAKTIV archive (n=86; 51 ADHD, 35 comparison) and condition-level reaction times from the chil_reac2 dataset (n=30; 20 ADHD, 10 comparison) were processed with preregistered rules. Group contrasts used Welch tests and Hedges g; sensitivity and cross-dataset convergence were examined. Findings informed a Therapist Prompt Toolkit. Results: ADHD showed lower burst energy density (CAP; g = -0.53), larger post-context decline (Grain; g = -0.76), and steeper novelty/decay (Flexion; g = -0.85) in HYPERAKTIV. Primode delays were heavy-tailed but nonsignificant on average (g = 0.27). Slip differences reflected unequal wear and attenuated after normalization. Anchory (gross sustainment) was similar overall but shorter in task-bound subsets. chil_reac2 effects for Grain and Flexion paralleled HYPERAKTIV; Slip trended higher in ADHD. Conclusions: ADHD can be viewed as structural effort dysregulation. Lagunian variables provide measurable levers linking intention, mobilization, sustainment, and variability. A brief toolkit (start cues, burst pacing, timed focus blocks, transition scaffolds, variability logs, novelty injectors) supports immediate clinical application. Cognitive Neuroscience Psychiatry Psychology Applied Statistics ADHD Effort regulation Cognitive drive architecture Lagunian dynamics Structural effort variables Executive function variability Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files figS6.1.png S6.1. Simulated burst distributions (CAP) figS6.2.png S6.2. Transition cost (Grain) S1.pdf Supplement S1 S2.pdf Supplement S2 S3.pdf Supplement S3 S4.pdf Supplement S4 S5.pdf Supplement S5 S6.pdf Supplement S6 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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Symptom and executive models describe impairments but not the real-time mechanics of these effort swings. We evaluated a structural effort framework, Lagunian Dynamics, within the Cognitive Drive Architecture (CDA).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethod:\u003c/strong\u003e Six variables were derived: Primode (initiation), CAP (burst mobilization), Anchory (sustain span), Grain (transition cost), Flexion (novelty/decay), and Slip (variability). Minute-level wearable actigraphy from the HYPERAKTIV archive (n=86; 51 ADHD, 35 comparison) and condition-level reaction times from the chil_reac2 dataset (n=30; 20 ADHD, 10 comparison) were processed with preregistered rules. Group contrasts used Welch tests and Hedges g; sensitivity and cross-dataset convergence were examined. Findings informed a Therapist Prompt Toolkit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e ADHD showed lower burst energy density (CAP; g = -0.53), larger post-context decline (Grain; g = -0.76), and steeper novelty/decay (Flexion; g = -0.85) in HYPERAKTIV. Primode delays were heavy-tailed but nonsignificant on average (g = 0.27). Slip differences reflected unequal wear and attenuated after normalization. Anchory (gross sustainment) was similar overall but shorter in task-bound subsets. chil_reac2 effects for Grain and Flexion paralleled HYPERAKTIV; Slip trended higher in ADHD.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions: \u003c/strong\u003eADHD can be viewed as structural effort dysregulation. Lagunian variables provide measurable levers linking intention, mobilization, sustainment, and variability. A brief toolkit (start cues, burst pacing, timed focus blocks, transition scaffolds, variability logs, novelty injectors) supports immediate clinical application.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The ADHD Effort Paradox: Lagun’s Law Models Structural Effort Regulation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-07-22 03:55:33","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7162397/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"310a3f9c-f6cb-4797-8872-c378427048bd","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 22nd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":51782791,"name":"Cognitive Neuroscience"},{"id":51782792,"name":"Psychiatry"},{"id":51782793,"name":"Psychology"},{"id":51782794,"name":"Applied Statistics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-22T03:55:34+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-07-22 03:55:33","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7162397","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7162397","identity":"rs-7162397","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}