Differences in brain chemistry found by researchers
People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have less of certain proteins in their brains than people without ADHD, US researchers have said, reports the BBC. These key proteins allow that people to experience a sense of reward and motivation. “These deficits in the brain's reward system may help explain clinical symptoms of ADHD, including inattention and reduced motivation, as well as the propensity for complications such as drug abuse and obesity among ADHD patients,” said researcher Dr Nora Volkow.It’s hoped that the research could help find new ways to cope with ADHD.“The findings of this new research will go a long way to helping us understand the presentation of symptoms but more importantly it may give teachers more of an idea of what interventions should be used in the classroom in order to accommodate children with ADHD,” said Andrea Bilbow, of the ADHD charity ADDISS.“For far too long there has been an assumption that children with ADHD are deliberately willful which has led to mismanagement and ultimately permanent exclusions from school,” Andrea stated.“This study widens our horizons. It shows that ADHD is not just about abnormalities in the attention systems of the brain, but also abnormalities in the motivation and emotion centres. It suggests that teachers need to make sure that school tasks are interesting and exciting, so that children with ADHD are motivated to remain interested,” said Professor Katya Rubia, from London's Institute of Psychiatry.
