Expert: Finding shows the biological basis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Crucial parts of brains of children with attention deficit disorder develop more slowly than other youngsters’ brains, a phenomenon that earlier brain-imaging research missed, a new study says.
Developing more slowly in ADHD youngsters — the lag can be as much as three years — are brain regions that suppress inappropriate actions and thoughts, focus attention, remember things from moment to moment, work for reward, and control movement. That was the finding of researchers, led by Dr. Philip Shaw of the National Institute of Mental Health, who reported the most detailed study yet on this problem in Monday’s online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
I’ve gone from seriously not believing that ADHD existed at all, to being forced to understand its reality because my life partner, his kids, and my daughter all have it. These findings are a major advance!
I still know that plenty of people (particularly bad parents) use ADHD as an excuse, but that can happen with any disorder, real or imagined.
There’s further information at the National Institute for Mental Health, where the research was done.
