Researchers at Cardiff University have recently published a study in The Lancet claiming that they have found the first direct evidence of a genetic link, or genetic cause for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, teens, and adults. The research team also reports that this is evidence for ADHD being a neurological disorder, such as autism, and not due to environmental factors such as bad parenting.

However, their research study was immediately countered in Britain by those who insist that ADHD is due primarily to environmental factors, primarily stress and the release of cortisol in young children. Read more of the article...

The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) released the first-ever biomonitoring report identifying toxic chemical pollution in people from the learning and developmental disability community. Mind, Disrupted: How toxic chemicals may affect how we think and who we are examines 61 toxic chemicals present in project participants in the context of rising rates of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other learning and developmental disabilities. Read more of the article...

A recently published study on children, ADHD, and sleep, gives parents good reasons to make sure that their ADHD kids develop good bed-time habits and are in bed as early as possible.

The study was just published on March 1, 2009 in the journal SLEEP. It confirms what many parents already know about their ADHD children or teens, that they simply are not getting enough sleep at night, and that they often wake up tired and sluggish in the morning, which causes other problems all through the day. Read more of the article...

New Research Offers Insight Into Cause Of Impulsivity in ADHD

We have often felt sorry for those impulsive children who blurt out the first thing that comes to their mind when asked a question, especially if they are about to get into trouble. As most parents know, that first thing that comes out as the answer is usually a lie. And then the child has to spend the rest of the hour covering up the lie, that both he and his parents know is a lie. This is a classic scene of a child with ADHD getting into trouble because of his impulsivity. Read more of the article...

Quantitative EEG and Auditory Event-Related Potentials in the Evaluation of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Effects of Methylphenidate and Implications for Neurofeedback Training

J. F. Lubar, M. O. Swartwood, J. N. Swartwood, D. L. Timmermann
University of Tennessee

Neurophysiological correlates of Attention Deficit Disorder with and without Hyperactivity (AD/HD) and effects of methylphenidate are explored using electroencephalographic (EEG) and auditory eventrelated potentials (ERPs).

In the first of four studies, a database of AD/HD individuals of varying ages and matched adolescent/adult controls is presented.

Study 2 compares controls and age-matched children with ADD, and children with ADHD on and off methylphenidate. Read more of the article...

Executive functions and developmental psychopathology.

J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1996 Jan;37(1):51-87
Pennington BF, Ozonoff S
Department of Psychology, University of Denver, CO 80208, USA.

In this paper, we consider the domain of executive functions (EFs) and their possible role in developmental psychopathologies.

We first consider general theoretical and measurement issues involved in studying EFs and then review studies of EFs in four developmental psychopathologies: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), autism, and Tourette syndrome (TS).

Our review reveals that EF deficits are consistently found in both ADHD and autism but not in CD (without ADHD) or in TS. Read more of the article...

Do executive function deficits differentiate between adolescents with ADHD and oppositional defiant/conduct disorder?

A neuropsychological study using the Six Elements Test and Hayling Sentence Completion Test

J Abnorm Child Psychol 2000 Oct;28(5):403-14
Clark C, Prior M, Kinsella GJ
School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.
[Record supplied by publisher]

Two neuropsychological measures of executive functions--Six Elements Tests (SET) and Hayling Sentence Completion Test (HSCT)-were administered to 110 adolescents, aged 12-15 years. Read more of the article...

Neuropsychological functioning of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2000 Feb;22(1):115-24
Walker AJ, Shores EA, Trollor JN, Lee T, Sachdev PS
Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

The neuropsychological functioning of adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was compared to that of healthy controls and individuals with mild psychiatric disorders including attentional complaints.

Thirty adults in each group were examined on the Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and measures of attention, executive function, psychomotor speed, and arithmetic skills.

The ADHD group performed lower than healthy controls on most measures. Read more of the article...

ADD ADHD Neuropsychological deficits in adolescent-onset schizophrenia compared with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Am J Psychiatry 1999 Aug;156(8):1216-22
Oie M, Rund BR
National Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Oslo, Norway.

OBJECTIVE: Impaired neuropsychological performance involving abstraction-flexibility, memory, motor function, and attention has frequently been reported in schizophrenia as well as in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This study represents an attempt to compare groups of adolescents with schizophrenia and ADHD on a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Such a comparison affords the opportunity to ascertain differences in the degree, profile, and specificity of impairments.