Brain Research: ADHD
Bryon Brand
Do you know the difference between ADD and ADHD? (or are you confused about the difference between ADD and ADHD?) Many students have ADHD so they experience both advantages and disadvantages. For example, they are more creative, but it is harder to focus on one thing. Having ADHD is mostly genetic. It is not caused by environmental factors. Students with ADHD usually have smaller pre-frontal lobes. That is the part of their brains that controls attention, focus, planning, and impulse control. People with ADHD feel the need to be constantly doing something. They are easily bored.
If you have ADHD it’s much harder for you to concentrate on one thing especially in school but u are much more creative. The book, Handy Health Guide to ADHD by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn, explains that people with ADHD feel the need to constantly be doing something. The book also states that ADHD is not caused by environmental factors expect maybe drug and alcohol abuse by pregnant mothers; it is mostly an inherited condition.
In the article, “ADHD” from TeensHealth.org, it states that ADHD used to be called ADD for short. “In 1994, it was renamed. People might still use the term ADD to describe a type of ADHD that doesn’t involve hyperactivity.” Also in the article, it states that “after doctors know more about someone’s ADHD, they design a treatment plan based on that person’s need.” In the newspapers,
The Chicago Tribune, it states that “ADHD is among the most common aliments of childhood according to the National institute of mental health. Kids with ADHD have trouble focusing on a task, following the instructions, sitting still, listening to people who are talking to them, being patient, controlling their impulsive behavior and being quiet, among other symptoms” (Mascarelli). The article also explains that “brain imaging studies have found that neural circuitry in prefrontal cortex – which controls functions such as planning, understanding, and following rules, and figuring out what type of behavior is appropriate in a particular situation - and several other brain regions may be impaired or smaller in people with ADHD” (Mascarelli). In conclusion there is good and bad to having ADHD; you just need to take medicine and learn how to treat the bad parts of it.
Five To Know Before You Go
- Not caused environmental factors except maybe drug and alcohol abuse by pregnant mother -(mostly genetic)
- Prefrontal lobe smaller -controls attention, focus, planning, and impulse control
- Prefrontal lobe doesn't get enough nuerotransmitter, dopamine
- Dopamine helps a person block out distractions & control his behavior
- People with ADHD feel the need to constantly be doing something
Bibliography
"ADHD." http://kidshealth.org. Nemours Foundation, July 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Mascarelli, Amanda. "Coming into Focus." Chicago Tribune 7 Aug. 2011: 26. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
Nunn, Laura Silversteen, and Virginia Silversteen. Handy Health Guide to ADHD. Berkely Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2014. Print.