Attention deficit disorder (ADHD) is visible on MRI scans. The brains of sufferers are underdeveloped in five areas related to emotions.
In the collective imagination, this disorder is associated with hyperactivity and Ritalin to calm it. Attention deficit disorder (ADHD) is believed to be the result of an abnormality in the brain. Several regions of the organ are underdeveloped. This is what shows a large study carried out on more than 3,200 people and published in the Lancet Psychiatry.
Five regions involved in the regulation of emotions and voluntary movements do not present the same profile in patients with ADHD. The problem is structural since the size of these areas is smaller than normal. “These differences are minimal – on the order of a few percent,” admits Dr. Martine Hoogman, first author of this study. Similar differences have been found in other psychiatric disorders, particularly major depressive disorder. “
Redefining disease
This difference is observed among all participants who suffer from attention deficit disorder. But on MRI, hyperactive children show much more marked abnormalities. A result that could explain why, in adulthood, a third of patients no longer suffer from the symptoms.
Based on these brain images, the authors believe that ADHD should be redefined. More than a behavioral disorder, it should be described as a brain pathology, which is characterized by developmental delay in several regions. This is valuable because the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) also struggles to classify ADHD precisely.
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