Study
Shows the ADHD Brain Matures Differently
Ongoing
ADD/ADHD research continues
to show variations in children’s brain development.
During an imaging study by researchers at the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), researchers found that brains matured at
a slower pace for children with ADHD. While the brains of
ADHD children matured at a normal pattern, development was
delayed by about three years compared to non-ADHD children.
In November
2007, the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health
reported the results of their imaging study which involved
446 participants ranging in age from preschool to young
adults. The brain of each participant was scanned at least
twice at about three-year intervals.
Among
the 223 participants with ADHD, development was mostly delayed
in the brain’s cortex, the area of the brain that
enables the ability to control attention, thinking, and
planning. On the other hand, the motor cortex was the only
area of the brain that matured faster than average in ADHD
children. Researchers said this might account for the fidgeting
and restlessness noticed in young ADHD patients. Otherwise,
both the ADHD group and the non-ADHD group showed similar
brain maturation.
While
brain scans are not advanced enough at this time to diagnose
or treat ADHD, the findings in this study support theories
that brain developmental differences are central to what
causes ADHD.
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