ADHD & Brain Activity

If you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder--ADHD--your brain has distinctive patterns that are different from those of normal people. While ADHD brain "wiring" has created problems for you in paying attention, sticking with boring tasks, and remembering things, your brain patterns may also have given you unusual creativity.

History

ADHD is caused by brain "wiring" problems that result in the characteristic ADHD behavior patterns: trouble paying attention, impulsiveness, and extreme physical and mental restlessness or hyperactivity, as described by the National Institute of Mental Health in an article, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder." ADHD was formally identified as a brain problem in 1798 by a Scottish doctor, Sir Alexander Crichton, who identified patients suffering from "a disease of attention" and "an unnatural degree of mental restlessness."

Theories

Between 1798 and 1995, physicians argued about whether ADHD symptoms were the result of poor parenting, sinfulness, juvenile delinquency, mental illness or physical brain damage. A scientific consensus emerged, described in a 1995 book, "Driven to Distraction," by Drs. Edward Hallowell and John J. Ratey. ADHD is now seen as a hereditary brain pattern in many families that is present from birth. New brain scanning techniques have made it possible to peer inside the brains of ADHD people and see how they differ from normal brains.

Brain Scans

Studies of ADHD brain activity usually look at ways in which ADHD peoples' physical brain structures differ from those of normal people, and show activity in different areas from those of normal people. Typically, ADHD people and normal controls are given a particular task to perform, and their brains are filmed while doing the task. Brain areas that are active while people perform the task show as brightly lighted in brain scan pictures. Brain areas that are not working on the task appear much darker.

Scan Results

A 2006 National Institute of Mental Health essay, "Brain Changes Mirror Symptoms in ADHD," analyzed the results of several brain imaging studies. One study showed that the amygdala, which governs emotions, was smaller in ADHD children, and had poorer connections with the pre-frontal cortex, which controls carrying out goals and controlling impulses. A 2007 study done by Dr. Philip Shaw and a research team of the National Institute of Mental Health is summarized in "Brain Matures a Few Years Late in ADHD, But Follows Normal Pattern," a web essay in which a video link allows viewers to watch the ADHD child's brain cortex growing more slowly than the cortex of a normal child.

Research Continuing

Brain scans of ADHD's effect on brain activity have focused on the negative aspects of ADHD, but Drs. Hallowell and Ratey suggest in "Driven to Distraction" that ADHD is connected to creativity. Psychological studies on this issue are currently inconclusive. Some suggest that ADHD people do possess extra creativity; other studies find no relationship. As brain scans of ADHD minds become more sophisticated, it is possible that a physical basis will be found for claims of the link between ADHD and creativity.