Brain signal reappears after ADHD symptoms fade
Synchrony in neural activity returns in adults who no longer have a diagnosis
The brains of adults who shed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses seem to outgrow aspects of the disorder. After a childhood diagnosis of ADHD, adults who no longer experience symptoms lack a characteristic asynchrony of brain activity, scientists report June 10 in Brain.
If confirmed in studies involving more people, the asynchrony might serve as a clear marker of active ADHD. Such a sign would allow clinicians to better detect and monitor the disorder, which is characterized by hyperactivity and difficulties focusing, says cognitive neuroscientist Sandra Bond Chapman of the University of Texas at Dallas.
About 60 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD continue to experience symptoms as adults, while the remaining 40 percent see their symptoms ease, says study coauthor Aaron Mattfeld, a neuroscientist at MIT. “No one’s really looked at the brain differences among those two unique groups.”