Word: adhd
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Shaw and his colleagues compiled data from the brain scans of 446 children, half of whom had ADHD. The scans used new imaging technology that allowed researchers to "watch" some 40,000 points in the subjects' brains over time, and to figure out which specific regions of the brain developed, or thickened, at different rates. On average, in children with ADHD, the age at which 50% of the 40,000 points on the cortex - the brain's outer mantle - achieved peak thickness was 10 1/2, three years behind the typically developing kids whose cortex matured...
Aside from the timing of maturation, the brains of children with ADHD appear to develop the same way typical brains do, from back to front. "Do [kids with ADHD] have basically have the same sequence of brain development? That's a yes," says Shaw. "Do they completely catch up with other kids? That's what we're looking...
...ADHD is the most common psychiatric childhood disorder in the United States, but it's not bound by geography; diagnosis of ADHD is increasing globally. Since 1993, use of stimulant drugs to treat ADHD has more than tripled worldwide, according to one study. Symptoms for the disorder include impulsiveness, hyperactivity and poor concentration, and can develop over several months. Though most people outgrow the hyperactivity aspect - characterized by having trouble sitting still, moving around when others are seated, or talking while others are talking - about a quarter to a third of children and teenagers carry their ADHD into adulthood. Some...
Though the new study may eventually help scientists identify why ADHD causes the brain to develop slower and how kids can get better sooner, Shaw says it won't help doctors diagnose the disorder today. ADHD diagnoses still have to made through clinical evaluations, and for now, treatment still means the widely used psycho-stimulant drugs, like Ritalin, and behavioral therapy...
...doctors continue learning about the ADHD brain, however, more and more alternative treatments, such as attention training and psychotherapy, are gaining traction. Research shows that the brain is not static - that it can physically change with experience. Studies reveal that the brains of some piano players, for instance, are more developed in the areas responsible for finger movement, while in the brains of people who have practiced meditation long-term, the attention centers are physically larger than average...