Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is typically described as having three key traits: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. But what’s the brain activity behind them?
To simplify some very complex neuroscience: when there’s an uneven supply of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine in our brains, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (the front part of the brain), it leads to inconsistent communication across our neurons. This causes uneven waves of stimulation, creating the effect of circuits being switched on and off, which can block motivation, focus, productivity and level of engagement.
It doesn’t help that many people throw the term around casually, maybe joking that “I must have ADHD” when they’ve simply overlooked or lost interest in something, as everyone does from time to time. Meanwhile, experts debate whether ADHD is an accurate – or fair – way to sum up a complex set of symptoms. In fact, we’re seeing a shift away from talking about the symptoms of ADHD in favour of identifying the behaviours or characteristics associated with a brain that simply works differently than many people’s.
While the diagnostic label ADHD can be convenient shorthand, we need to focus on what really matters: the experience of people who live every day with ADHD.
Planning to do something but forgetting. Beginning a task but giving up. Thinking about too many things at once and struggling to set priorities. These are the kinds of behaviours that can lead to someone being formally diagnosed with ADHD. But it’s not helpful or even correct to think of them as fundamental personality features — or worse, weaknesses.
When ADHD is properly treated, it’s about discovering all the things you can do — and empowering you to do them even better. The first step is to understand what’s happening in your brain that causes you to behave in particular ways. Because by better understanding causes, we can start to change outcomes.
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