How does the brain with ADHD work?

The brains of children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) seem to function a little differently than other people, and these differences in the ADHD brain often produce the symptoms of the disorder. Research continues on this topic, so new discoveries are being made frequently about how the brain works and how ADHD is produced by the brain. In general, however, it has been observed that people with ADHD tend to have unusual amounts of certain chemicals and neurotransmitters in the brain. The ADHD brain also appears to work differently in a few key areas, all working together to produce the various aspects of ADHD.

People with ADHD often have difficulty concentrating, demonstrate poor impulse control, and can be easily distracted from a task by other ideas or tasks. For years, research has focused on the role of dopamine and related brain chemistry in contributing to processes in the ADHD brain. Ritalin, one of the main drugs often used to treat ADHD, normally changes the way dopamine is produced and used in the brain. However, more recent research has shown that several different areas of the brain appear to work together to produce the common symptoms of ADHD.

Four main areas of potential ADHD brain activity are the frontal lobe, the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, and the reticular activating system within the brain. The frontal lobe, for example, is where much of the research on neurotransmitters and neurological chemicals has been done. This is where the brain makes and uses chemicals like dopamine and glutamate. In the ADHD brain, it appears that these chemicals are either produced in excess or in insufficient amounts to function properly. These changes in brain chemistry can produce effects such as an inability to properly focus or inhibit actions.

The cerebral cortex is also highly involved with inhibitory brain activities. In the ADHD brain, the cortex does not appear to inhibit other areas of the brain properly, resulting in people with ADHD often having inappropriate outbursts or speaking without first considering what to say. This can lead to disruptive behavior in a classroom or business meeting and other negative consequences.

These outbursts can also be affected by the brain's limbic system, which controls emotions. The ADHD brain does not seem to be properly controlled by the limbic system, so people with ADHD may have wild mood swings or be unable to control emotional outbursts. As these different parts of the brain work together, the various symptoms of ADHD manifest not because of a single system, but through a combined effort of various parts of the brain.

The reticular activation system in the ADHD brain also appears to be different from a "normal" brain. This part of the brain appears to control some of the frontal lobe's focus and concentration, as well as a person's motor activity. Unusual functions in this area may be responsible for a person with ADHD's inability to focus on a certain task and for people with ADHD's tendency to be hyperactive or find it difficult to sit still.

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