Study shows differences in kids' brains who have the disorder

Children with ADHD have markedly different resting brain functions than children without the neurological disorder, according to a national study released this week.

Scanning thousands of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder reveals important differences: National Institutes of Health Study in American Journal of Psychiatry They found that young people with ADHD have more wiring, or networks of nerve cells, in their brains that make it harder for their brains to send clear signals for tasks like following instructions or sitting still.

The findings build on evidence that helps experts explain how children’s brain circuits correlate with ADHD symptoms seen by teachers and parents. Essentially, researchers found that children with ADHD may be overwired, making it difficult for their brains to send certain signals.

“These are brain regions that we know are important in controlling impulsive behavior and controlling attention,” says scientist Luke Norman. National Institute of Mental Health the study’s authors told USA TODAY. “These networks appear to be inefficient for ADHD.”

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Previous studies of brain function in people with ADHD have involved small groups, typically fewer than 100 participants. No one has accumulated conclusive evidence to pinpoint the parts of the brain affected by ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty paying attention and staying still.

The NIH study used thousands of brain scans of children with characteristics of ADHD from six different datasets. Outside experts said that while the results were relatively small because people were resting and inactive during the MRI scan, this increased sample size is important for understanding how the brains of people with ADHD work. Said it was helpful.

This study did not examine methods for diagnosing ADHD. This is usually done through an assessment that includes input from doctors, teachers, and parents. Rather, the findings help pinpoint specific signals in the brain that are acting on people with the disorder, said Lauren Friedman, an assistant professor of psychology. arizona state universityhad no connection to the study.

In the United States, approximately 6 million children between the ages of 3 and 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, meaning just under 10% of children face these challenges. do. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research suggests that in addition to genetics, other factors such as premature birth, low birth weight, lead poisoning, brain injury, and alcohol or tobacco use during pregnancy play a role in the development of ADHD in children. Masu.

The study also looked at the scan results of more than 8,000 children, on average under the age of 11. Nearly 1,700 of these children were diagnosed with ADHD, and more than 6,700 others did not have ADHD. All the children lay with their eyes open in an MRI machine while their brains were imaged.

Researchers found that in children with ADHD, the brain’s frontal cortex (an area that controls attention and manages undesirable behavior) has increased wiring that connects structures deep in the brain that handle information processing. I discovered that. This part of the brain is where learning takes place. It is also a place where people create movement and experience emotions. Children with ADHD had more connections between these two parts of the brain, but that didn’t mean the signals reached them more easily. Instead, the over-connection of wires caused what the study called “connectivity changes.”

NIH researcher Norman said the images were based on previous research. For example, when children with ADHD play games that require attention and impulse control, their brain scans show that they have difficulty establishing the neural connections to perform the task. . This study appears to confirm the same results even when people are resting.

The findings capture only a small portion of the brain activity of people with ADHD. Norman said more research is needed that looks at children with ADHD in different activities and how children with ADHD grow. The researchers noted that the study did not reflect the entire U.S. population of children. More than 15% of the children with ADHD in the study were from households with incomes over $200,000, and about two-thirds of the children diagnosed with ADHD were boys.

Sarah Karalunas, Associate Professor of Psychology purdue universitysaid the study helps establish patterns of brain differences in children with ADHD, who may be trying harder than others to control their emotions and attention.

In his next study, Norman plans to investigate how children practice skills that use these brain connections. His goal, he said, is to advance efforts to find treatments that change how the brain functions.

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