ADHD and the Prefrontal Cortex

Summary & key facts

This paper explains how the front part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex, is closely tied to the main problems seen in ADHD. Studies using brain scans and other research show that this brain area often works differently in people with ADHD. The chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine help the prefrontal cortex do its job, and many ADHD medications boost those chemicals to help with attention and impulse control. The findings help scientists understand why people with ADHD have trouble planning, staying focused, and controlling impulses, but they do not mean every person with ADHD has the exact same brain changes.

Key facts:

• The prefrontal cortex is the brain area most involved in planning, paying attention, and controlling impulses.
• Research using brain scans finds that the prefrontal cortex often shows smaller size or lower activity in groups of people with ADHD compared with people without ADHD.
• Two brain chemicals, dopamine and norepinephrine, are important for the prefrontal cortex to work well.
• Many ADHD medications increase dopamine and norepinephrine in the prefrontal cortex, and this increase is linked with better attention and impulse control for many people.
• Not everyone with ADHD shows the same brain differences, and the brain findings are about group patterns rather than a single test that can diagnose ADHD.

Topics

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Psychiatry and Mental health

Tags

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Clonidine Cognition Dopamine Dopaminergic Guanfacine Impulsivity Internal medicine Medicine Neurochemical Neuroscience Prefrontal cortex Psychiatry Psychology Stimulant Stimulation

Conditions & symptoms

ADHD Difficulty focusing