ADHD Flashcards
Definition
A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development
Stats
Around 5% of children in the UK
Ratio 3:1- more hyperactive in boys so gets noticed more
Symptoms continue into adulthood in 8-43% of cases
Activity issues decline, attentional issues remain
Encephalitis lethargica
Swelling of the brain
Affected children who survived the encephalitis, subsequently showed abnormal behaviour
‘Postencephalitic behaviour disorder’ children became hyperactive/distractive
First evidence that ADHD was related to brain damage
Disorder called minimal brain damage was recognised
Assumption that minimal damage to the brain causes postencephalitic-type symptoms
DSM classification
DSM II- Hyperkinetic reaction of childhood
DSM III- Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
Hyperactivity was no longer an essential diagnostic criterion for the disorder
Developed three separate symptom lists for inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity
DSM III-R- “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” brought the symptom lists together
Impact of adhd - education
Poorer educational attainment- Children with ADHD are 6.53 times more likely to leave school with sub-level GCSE results that non-ADHD students
Occupational attainment
84% of people with ADHD were employed, compared to 95% of non-sufferers- also lower in the occupational level (worse jobs)- lower salary
Peer group relations
Children with ADHD are more likely to be rejected by their peer group
Physical health problems
23% of kids with ADHD required medical treatment compared to 15.3% of the control group. 1.6 times more likely.
Mental health problems
Co-morbidity is way higher in children with ADHD, especially with anxiety and depression Also seen in ASD (autism) and Tourette’s
Drug addiction as well- however if you are medicated for ADHD you are less likely to become dependant on drugs later in life
Classical theories about the pathological process underlying ADHD- Frontal cortex
Neuropsychology- the symptoms of ADHD are similar to the changes following frontal cortex damage- especially impulsivity
Iowa Gambling Task- People have the choice between a larger gain initially at the cost of an overall loss, or a smaller initial gain for an overall gain- determines cognitive impulsivity- people only think about the immediate gain- not the overall outcome
People with ADHD and prefrontal-cortex damage are more likely to pick the disadvantageous cards
‘delay aversion’- preference for a small immediate reward instead of a large delayed reward
Led to Barkley’s ‘behavioural disinhibition’ theory of ADHD
Sees poor behavioural inhibition as the central deficiency in ADHD
Phineas gage- spire though his prefrontal cortex- began to show disinhibitory behaviours which weren’t present before the incident
Structural (MRI)
Less frontal lobe grey matter volume in children with ADHD
Functional imaging (PET)
Regions of the brain that had significantly different normalised rates of glucose metabolism in patients with ADHD compared to controls
Theory 2- dopamine
Most efficient ADHD medications increase dopamine levels
Microdialysis- collects fluid from a specific brain region- ADHD medication has been found to increase levels of dopamine in the brain
Assumption that ADHD id a result of a lack of dopamine- too much reuptake
