ADHD (Psychology)

Our ancient environments weren’t as diverse as the possibilities modern society Many stories may claim the title of the “Greatest Story Ever Told”: the Iliad, the New Testament or Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. My personal favourite has always been human evolution - how we came to be the way we are. Consequently, prehistory has been my favourite part of history for a long time. When and why did we start to speak? That was the topic of my PhD thesis. However, more recently my main focus has been not on the traits we all share, like language, a theory of mind and a liking for high-calorie foods, but on why we are so diverse. All animal species show some variation in behaviour and the science of Behavioural Ecology has made great progress to understand these variations. Often there is not one single optimal strategy for survival and reproduction but several. So, variation isn’t surprising. Yet, just as often there is one and only one optimal strategy and this makes the extreme variation in human behaviour perplexing.

Humans differ vastly in their traits and behaviours. While some people are high-risk takers and take a jump from the stratosphere, others are content leading normal lives, having a steady job that supports their family. From the point of view of evolutionary psychology these traits are most likely to have their origin in our ancestral environments. The biggest change in our environment happened with the advent of agriculture. Early farmers had to adapt to the hard farming work by becoming more focused on sustained rote work and becoming physically stronger (heavier than the more lightweight hunter-gatherers). An alien biologist might even have come to assume that foragers and farmers were different species, judging from their behaviour, social organization and appearance.

The different types of atypical development manifest themselves in deviations in the development and operation of neurological functions involved in the process called neurological maturation. We assume that what is called neurological maturation is in effect dependent on the cultural development of homo sapiens. Our culture changes and evolves. In the past, the skills and abilities of our hunter-gatherer ancestors with being a mainly oral culture is significantly different from the agricultural, stockbreeder, farmer lifestyle coupled with a mainly written culture. Each of these very distinct cultural styles requires different behaviour and cognitive functions. In this article, we discuss how the increased prevalence of learning and control difficulties, along with autism, may be a result of the vulnerability of the cerebral functions which from the perspective of human development count as very new. However, this may be only one aspect of a very complex story, as what may present a...

The purpose of this article is to describe the subjective experience of the diagnosis of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the cultural meanings that shape this experience. Based on interviews and discussion groups with diagnosed people and their families in Chile and France, this article show that ADHD can acquire multiple meanings. From a thematic analysis, we identified three registers or ways of living and thinking about ADHD. In the deficit register, the disorder is experienced primarily as a failure of certain abilities. In the disruption register, the disorder is experienced as disrupting the person’s life, personality and interactions, which must then be normalized. In the register of hidden potential, on which this article focuses, ADHD is simultaneously thought of as a difficult and valuable condition, a source of exceptional capacities that are often hidden in the ordinary functioning of social life. We therefore invite reflection that identifies the...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with self-harm during adolescence and young adulthood, especially among females. Yet little is known about the developmental trajectories or childhood predictors/moderators of self-harm in women with and without childhood histories of ADHD. We characterized lifetime risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation (SI), and suicide attempts (SA), comparing female participants with (n = 140) and without (n = 88) childhood ADHD. We examined theory-informed childhood predictors and moderators of lifetime risk via baseline measures from childhood. First, regarding developmental patterns, most females with positive histories of lifetime self-harm engaged in such behaviors in adolescence yet desisted by adulthood. Females with positive histories of self-harm by late adolescence emanated largely from the ADHD-C group. Second, we found that predictors of NSSI were early externalizing symptoms, overall executive functioning, and father's negative parenting; predictors of SI were adverse childhood experiences and low self-esteem; and predictors of SA were early externalizing symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, and low self-esteem. Third, receiver operating characteristics analyses helped to ascertain interactive sets of predictors. Findings indicate that pathways to self-harm are multifaceted for females with ADHD. Understanding early childhood predictors and moderators of self-harm can inform both risk assessment and intervention strategies.

Título del proyecto: CONNOTACIONES JURÍDICAS Y PENITENCIARIAS DEL TRASTORNO POR DÉFICIT DE ATENCIÓN E HIPERACTIVIDAD EN LA EJECUCIÓN DE PENAS
Entidad financiadora: FUNDACIÓN SÉNECA. AGENCIA REGIONAL DE CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA
Entidades participantes: COMUNIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE LA REGIÓN DE MURCIA Y UNIVERSIDAD DE MURCIA
Duración,  desde: 01/07/2015 hasta: 30/06/2017
Cantidad financiada: 15.550€
Investigador responsable: JAIME M. PERIS RIERA
Número de investigadores participantes: 1+12

While attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often conceptualised as a disorder of attention - difficulty sustaining focus and high distractibility - the cognitive profile of this disorder is much broader. Many crucial competencies in life rely on executive functions such as complex attention, working memory, set-shifting, effortful control, delayed gratification and impulse control. These executive functions are areas of significant impairment for children and adults diagnosed with ADHD and the consequences are often far-reaching in terms of their educational outcomes, professional success and social adjustment. This article provides an in-depth clinical profile of ADHD based on the dual-influence model of cognitive control. The value added by neuropsychological assessments within a broader clinical assessment is addressed to guide intervention using cognitive-rehabilitation therapy (CRT) and third wave cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Strategies of behavioural modification and cognitive optimisation are discussed ranging from planning, task approach, environmental modification (managing the cool system) and mindfulness-based techniques for impulse control and emotional regulation (for the hot system) to provide a means of treating a disorder of intention, not only attention.

Key words: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Cognitive-Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT), Continuous Performance Task, Behavioural Modification (B-MOD), Dysexecutive syndrome, Dual Influence Model of Cognitive Control, Executive Functions, Executive Dysfunction, Mindfulness, Neuropsychological Assessment, Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), Prefrontal Cortex

We sought to elucidate the relationship of ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) to the DRD4 exon III VNTR 7R allele worldwide using analytic techniques and to relate these findings to the field of cultural neuroscience. To focus on a potential moderating role of race/ethnicity, we excluded over 30 papers that have explored the relationship between the DRD4 7R and ADHD but had unclear or lax racial–ethnic inclusion criteria. The papers in this meta-analysis were only included if a single race made up 95% or more of their sample. We searched for and translated papers not published in English, and found a significant difference in the relationship of ADHD and DRD4 7R in people of European-Caucasian (Odds ratio 1.635, Z = 3.936, P < 0.00001) and South American (Odds ratio 2.407, Z = 3.317, P = 0.001) descent vs people of Middle Eastern ancestry (Odds ratio 0.717, Z = −2.466; P = 0.014). We also examined the moderating effect of differing ADHD diagnoses, subject recruitment, control recruitment and male to female ratio. Finally, we consider the implications of these data for cultural neuroscience.

The article is a review of empirical studies on the problem of children and adolescents’ videogaming and its effects on academic performance and attention problems (including ADHD). Despite many types of research projects, and the variety of their designs and methods, the consistent point of view on how videogaming affect school marks and cognitive developments of schoolers of different ages is missing. There is an evidence of both negative and positive effects of videogaming on academic performance and ADHD; some results also show no significant effect. Diversity of research results may be caused by basic methodological position of research teams — whether videogaming is studied as a form of addiction, or normal leisure activity; a place which videogaming holds in
conglomerate of determinants of children’ well-being; specificity of methods which are used for assess of academic performance, attention problems and intensiveness of videogaming.

Setiap anak akan melewati tahap perkembangan sesuai dengan usia nya. Menurut Erikson dalam Wade, Tavris & Garry (2014) bahwasannya setiap anak tentu akan melewati delapan fase dalam hidupnya antara lain yaitu kepercayaan versus ketidakpercayaan; otonomi versus ragu-ragu; inisiatif versus rasa bersalah; kompetensi versus inferioritas; identitas versus kebingungan identitas; keintiman versus isolasi; generativitas versus stagnasi; dan integritas ego versus keputusasaan. Salah satu aspek emosional pada tahap perkembangan anak sering ditemui pada usia pra-sekolah, yang mana biasanya pada anak di usia ini temper tantrum dialami seperti menangis, guling-gulin, berteriak, dan berkata kasar. Biasanya ada orangtua yang kesulitan dala mengatasi anak yang sedang temper tantrum. Penelitian  ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah pemberian sugesti dan sentuhan kasih sayang dapat mengatasi tantrum pada anak hiperaktif. Dan penelitian ini didasarkan pada argumen bahwa pengambilan sikap yang tepat oleh orang tua pada saat anak mengalami tantrum akan mampu mengatasi kondisi tantrum tersebut.
Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini metode pendekatan kualitatif dengan jenis penelitian studi kasus. Studi kasus (case study) adalah penelitian tentang status subjek yang berkenaan dengan suatu fase spesifik dari keseluruhan personal. Metode pengumpulan data nya melalui observasi, wawancara dan dokumentasi.
Kata Kunci: Anak, Perkembangan, Tantrum, Hyperaktif, Penanganan, dan kasih sayang

Background and Objectives: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are the two most common neurodevelopmental disorders often with overlapping symptoms. Misdiagnosis of these disorders is the leading cause of a variety of problems including inappropriate interventions and improper treatment outcome. Over the last few years, resting state functional magnetic Resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has received clinical attention among other beneficial brain scan techniques to extract functional connectivity in the brain. However, extracting useful information by human observation is prone to errors. Material and Methods: The above unmet need prompted us to design the present investigation to construct a convolutional neural network model with 12 layers architecture in rsFMRI data aiming to differentiate the two conditions. The rs-fMRI data was collected from the ADHD-200 and ABIDE to feed into a convolutional neural network. Over the preprocessing phase, we have removed undesirable data and coordinated the remaining to MSDL atlas to recruit 39 regions of the brain. Results: Ultimately, out results obtained a 0.92 accuracy, an AUC of 0.97 and loss of 0.17 in classification and discrimination of ADHD and ASD. Conclusion: Though cross-validity with larger datasets is deemed required, the results obtained from the present investigation suggest that convolutional neural network may serve as a beneficial tool to differentiate ADHD and ASD from relatively small fMRI datasets. This further highlights the potential application of deep neural networks for serving the above purpose.

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disabilities (LDs), that is why reading-disabled children must be identified in the primary school so that special lessons and methods can correct their ability of learning and develop the necessary skills. Despite LDs, kids might be very good at art, music, or computer technology. Therefore, for the last two decades, the latter one has become very popular and made a great progress in education both in regular classes and LD ones. Audio-video activities make lessons much different from the traditional ones and provoke the students' interest. Besides, it is also a sort of learning autonomy that makes each student busy and motivated. Since kids with LDs have difficulties in reading and spelling, they can have a real help from computer technology which corrects their spelling and makes them listen to the texts while reading which makes them decipher the information much better. In addition, it can be successfully used on the exams, which is done in the range of the countries including Israel.

For two years I have been researching how neurodiverse (ASD, ADHD, gifted, etc.) people are like ancient hunter-gatherers. It hasn't been an easy enterprise, as the only work that has ever pointed to an origin of neurodiverse minds in ancient hunter-gatherer minds has been Thom Hartmann's "Hunter-Hypothesis" of ADHD. Personally, I am somewhat in between neurotypical and neurodiverse, testing around 50% on online autism tests and 75% on ADHD tests. Like most neurodiverse people I have always had a hard time fitting in and I have a gifted son who learned to read by age two (hyperlexia) and who gets similar test results as I do. I generally do include the gifted label in my use of the word "neurodiverse", to make it clear that not only people who are considered "having disabilities" belong to this group. Here is a preliminary list: Cognitive • Distractibility and hyperfocus • Field-independent learners • Pattern-recognizers • Wider field of vision Social: • Less politeness/socially awkward (learn few social rules) • Egalitarian • Distrust of authoritarian behaviour • High sense of justice • Support the underdog • Exceptional honesty • No-ingroupism/nepotism • Less gender dimorphism

ADHD - to pojęcie jeszcze dwadzieścia lat temu funkcjonowało w społeczeństwie w szczątkowej formie. Jeżeli dziecko wierciło się w krześle, nie potrafiło usiedzieć w jednym miejscu i miało problem z dłuższym skupieniem uwagi, to postrzegane było jako niegrzeczne. Współcześnie rzecz przedstawia się zupełnie inaczej. ADHD jest jedną z najczęściej diagnozowanych wśród dzieci i młodzieży jednostek psychiatrycznych.
Celem książki jest odpowiedź na pytanie: w jaki sposób nadpobudliwe zachowanie z czasem zaczęło być symptomem zaburzenia psychicznego? Autor omówił w sposób ciekawy i niestandardowy historię wiedzy wokół ADHD i proces stopniowego rozszerzania kategorii diagnostycznej, a także zanalizował najważniejsze kontrowersje naukowo-społeczne wokół etiologii i terapii farmakologicznej, dodając do tego wątek globalnej ekspansji amerykańskiej definicji zaburzenia.
Ponadto - na podstawie wywiadów pogłębionych, analizy treści czasopism medycznych oraz analizy dyskursu medialnego - można w książce prześledzić proces wyłaniania się nadpobudliwości w kontekście polskim. Publikacja ta mieści się w ramach socjologii medycyny, zdrowia i choroby oraz korzysta z metodologii i siatki pojęciowej teorii aktora-sieci, co w znaczący sposób wzbogaca jej walor naukowy.

Much of what has ever been written about attention affecting syndromes is subject of debate. Attempts at an explanation have varied within scientific disciplines from the very beginning. After almost three decades of a principally drug-driven practice of treatment, in recent years, ethical, social, pedagogical, and—obviously—medical concerns, regarding such an alignment’s adverse aspects, sharply regained in public as well as academic relevancy. In this paper, I am giving credit to the findings of Hüther et al., who, since 2009, investigated potential alternative ways of giving therapy to attention affecting syndromes by taking ADHD diagnosed children out into nature, discontinuing their medication for several months—and returned with results that were astonishing, showing that alternative ways of dealing with attention affecting syndromes generally existed. These findings altogether resonate with my own observations and long-standing experiences in working with adolescents in an experiential educational and Steiner/Waldorf pedagogical context, which I exemplify in order to endorse and make a reinforcing case for Hüther’s preliminary findings and hypothesis.

ADHD is considered to cause issues with academic functioning. This paper aims to investigate factors and interventions science has discovered related to these issues. A few novel studies have brought insights into more of the problem areas individuals with ADHD face in a college environment. The literature also has suggestions on how to face these challenges. This review has discovered a few promising interventions and also some relatively new factors predicting academic achievement and mastery.

L’originalité de sa conception permet une analyse enrichie des erreurs commises afin de mettre à jour les processus défaillants et d’orienter les prises en charge thérapeutiques. Il est également utilisé pour suivre l’évolution des dispositifs de soins mis en oeuvre.
Dépister les troubles des fonctions exécutives et mesurer les progrès
Le Laby 5-12 évalue la capacité à planifier une action motrice, après analyse perceptive et cognitive de la tâche.
Il est particulièrement pertinent dans le dépistage du Trouble Déficit de l’Attention avec ou sans Hyperactivité (TDA/H) et dans le suivi des effets du traitement. Les troubles des fonctions exécutives sont également présents dans différentes pathologies rencontrées au cours du développement chez l’enfant (Trouble Envahissant du Développement, Trouble Oppositionnel avec Provocation, Trouble des Conduites, Troubles Spécifiques des Apprentissages) ainsi que dans le cadre de la prématurité et des traumatismes crâniens. Il est essentiel pour une consultation orientée sur les troubles des apprentissages ou les troubles envahissants du développement, en complément de l’évaluation des fonctions attentionnelles.

La référence en France
Inspiré de l’épreuve des labyrinthes de Porteus, le Laby 5-12 propose différents types de labyrinthes (angulaires ou circulaires) et un mode de cotation faisant intervenir la vitesse de résolution et les erreurs commises. La résolution des labyrinthes nécessite également l’inhibition des mouvements conduisant à des impasses et constitue donc une mesure de l’impulsivité.
L’évolution des concepts et des modèles théoriques du Trouble Déficit de l’Attention/Hyperactivité a mis l’accent sur le déficit des fonctions exécutives (Barkley, 1997) ainsi que sur l’aversion pour le délai (Sonuga-Barke, 2003). Le Laby 5-12 met l’enfant en situation de résolution de problèmes et sollicite une partie des fonctions exécutives que l’analyse des erreurs commises permet d’étudier de façon spécifique.

Self-control is that which is enacted to align our behaviour with intentions, motives, or better judgment in the face of conflicting impulses of motives. In this paper, I ask, what explains interpersonal differences in self-control? After defending a functionalist conception of self-control, I argue that differences in self-control are analogous to differences in mobility: they are modulated by inherent traits and environmental supports and constraints in interaction. This joint effect of individual (neuro)biology and environmental factors is best understood in terms of access to self-control behaviours. I sketch an account of access as including the three criteria of means, awareness, and non-excessive effort. I further demonstrate that people with disorders such as ADHD have limited access to self-control behaviours and stand therefore at a disadvantage with regard to self-control.

Video games education have been providing many new opportunities for those who wants to not only enjoy the games, but to learn at the same time. For ADHD, there is a rising numbers for adults specifically and does not provide any proper treatments and educational techniques especially within video games education. This research paper discusses of using video games education for adult ADHD and how those with that learning disability will be able to benefit from it. The paper first briefly discusses about why there is a lack of research for adult ADHD in education and some of its misconceptions about them. This is to provide a better insight of what needs to be researched for adult ADHD to provide them with a proper educational technique. Based on that kind of research, certain learning styles and techniques are being used from other scholarly journals and articles and create a proposed design of creating a learning game for adult ADHD.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 5% of children and adolescents, and 2.5% of the adult population worldwide (Fahira et al., 2019). ADHD manifests in a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that interferes with daytime functioning, characterized by deficient development in the personal, family, social or school settings. ADHD has three subtypes: predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I), predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type (ADHD-H), or combined type (ADHD-C) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). At the same time, ADHD increases the risk of other comorbid disorder (Melegari et al., 2018), academic and social impairment (Jangmo et al., 2018), criminal behavior (Mohr-Jensen et al., 2019), and suicide (Chen Y et al., 2018) in the lifetime of an individual.
The purpose of this study is to make a literature review and to gather studies on several factors related to ADHD.

Reasons for epidemic proportions of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder appears to be due to frequency of chemical ingestion, population being served, and idiosyncrasies of the attending medical professional and/or practice(s) (Loney & Ordona, 1975). Although there are many causes which require a combination of variates to manifest prior to cognitive impairment and behavioral pathology; some of the principal culprits are sodium benzoate, professional bias associated with social attitudes about one cluster or another, and business strategies which may overshadow treatment objectivity (Loney & Ordona, 1975).

המאמר מתאר ניסוי חלוץ שנערך בתיכון הסמוך לתחנת רדיו חינוכי.  מטרות התוכנית היו לימוד מיומנויות תפעול אולפן רדיו הדורשות מיקוד ופיצול קשב וקידום תחושת הערך העצמי והמסוגלות של תלמידים עם קשיי למידה. תוכנית הפיילוט נבנתה בתוך שעות לימוד ותרגול כיתתי ובשעות תרגול פרטניות שניתנו לכל תלמיד בהתאם לצרכיו בליווי סטודנטים חונכים הלומדים במכללה בחוג לתקשורת. ההנחה הייתה כי רכישה וחיזוק בתחום התקשורת השפתית, ושיפור ביכולת תכנון וארגון הזמן יחד עם משוב מידי, יאפשרו הרחבה וביסוס של כישורי התלמידים בתחומים אלו בנוסף להעצמה רגשית וחברתית.
ממצאי המחקר עולה כי אצל התלמידים שהשתתפו במיזם ניכר שיפור משמעותי במיומנויות היסוד. השילוב של אפיק תפעול מקצועי-טכני של אולפן הרדיו ביחד עם חיזוק הביטחון והדימוי העצמי של התלמידים הביא לחיזוק הביטחון העצמי,  תחושת המסוגלות שלהם ויכולתם להתמודד עם מטלות אקדמיות.

ילד לקוי למידה מזמן אתגר לא פשוט למשפחתו: על הוריו להשקיע הרבה זמן, אנרגיה וממון כדי למצוא את המומחים המתאימים שיעזרו לו להגיע להישגים לימודיים מינימליים על אף הלקות. ילד מחונן לקוי למידה מזמן אתגר גדול אף יותר להוריו: הם יודעים שהוא "יכול להגיע רחוק", אבל עליהם לשכנע אותו בכך – ופעמים רבות לשכנע אף את עצמם שהפוטנציאל שלו לא נעלם, על אף כל הכישלונות.

הורים שמצפים לגדולות מילדם לקוי הלמידה מצטיירים לעתים קרובות בעיני סביבתם כ"משוגעים לדבר": המורים, היועצות, ולפעמים כל אנשי הצוות החינוכי הבאים במגע עם הילד אינם מכנים לקבל את המושג "מחונן לקוי למידה", והילד מוצא את עצמו בין הפטיש לסדן. חלק מהמורים חושבים שהוא בעל יכולות נמוכות ו"הורים דוחפים", ואינם מוכנים לתת לו הזמנות ללמוד ברמה גבוהה ולפתוח בפניו מקצועות מאתגרים או מסלול שנחשב יוקרתי. מורים אחרים מכירים ביכולות הגבוהות של הילד, אבל אינם מאמינים שהוא לקוי למידה, ולפיכך לא מאפשרים לו לקבל את ההקלות להן הוא זכאי, לא מוכנים לשתף פעולה עם תוכנית התמיכה בו, ולפעמים אפילו שמים אותו ללעג לפני חבריו, משל היה מעמיד פנים, עצל או טוען לזכויות לא לו.

ילדים רבים בעלי תווית כפולה – של מחוננים ושל בעלי לקות למידה – נופלים "בין הכיסאות": מצד אחד, הם אינם מקבלים חינוך למחוננים, שכן לקות הלמידה מונעת מהם לממש את הפוטנציאל הטמון בהם; הם אף אינם מוכרים כמחוננים, היות ובמבדקי המחוננות אינם משיגים את הציון המינימלי הנדרש כדי להיכלל בקבוצה זו. מצד שני – בשל מחוננותם הם מגיעים להישגים, שאף אם אינם תואמים את יכולותיהם הקוגניטיביות, הם מספיקים כדי להיחשב תלמידים בינוניים, רגילים. פעמים רבות הם מוגדרים כתלמידים עצלים, שאינם מגיעים להישגים שנראה "בבירור" שהם יכולים להגיע אליהם

Questo lavoro è teso ad approfondire i correlati psicobiologici del Disturbo da Deficit di Attenzione / Iperattività (DDAI, in italiano, e ADHD, in inglese, da Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) e, partendo dalle caratteristiche del disturbo, arriva a formulare alcune ipotesi suggerite dal confronto fra gli studi sullo stato di hyperfocus in soggetti con DDAI
e gli studi sullo stato di flow in campioni non diversificati in base a eventuali disturbi psicologici, che potrebbero essere verificate empiricamente in successivi studi.
I numerosi studi sui soggetti con DDAI hanno evidenziato diverse anomalie anatomiche e funzionali che, seppur con qualche incongruenza, hanno prodotto diverse teorie psicobiologiche.
Le teorie che, oltre a evidenziare il più generico deficit dell'attenzione, cercano di spiegare il disturbo come prodotto in via primaria da disfunzioni in un unico dominio clinico (funzioni esecutive, motivazione, impulsività) non sono risultate soddisfacenti.
Risultano, invece, più credibili le ipotesi che spiegano il disturbo dal punto di vista psicobiologico attraverso deficit in domini cognitivi multipli e relativamente indipendenti.
La ricerca fino ad oggi realizzata per una comprensione psicobiologica del disturbo converge nell'attribuire un ruolo centrale ai neurotrasmettitori (glutammato, GABA, dopamina e noradrenalina) e, più nello specifico, alla disfunzione di alcuni importanti circuiti dopaminergici, causata da anomalie nella densità di recettori dopaminergici DI e D2 e relativi sottotipi (DI, D5, D:, D3 e Da).
Particolare approfondimento da parte della ricerca è stato dedicato al sistema dopaminergico della ricompensa che presenta significative alterazioni nel DDAI e costituisce il correlato psicobiologico
della motivazione.
In base al DSM 5, nel DDAI la disattenzione interferisce con il funzionamento o lo sviluppo dell'individuo e i suoi sintomi hanno un'intensità tale da produrre un impatto negativo sulle abilità sociali, scolastiche o lavorative.
Tuttavia, nella letteratura viene descritto, sia dai soggetti con DDAI che dai loro familiari e dai clinici, un particolare stato di attenzione altamente focalizzata su attività interessanti per il paziente, denominato hyperfocus. Questo paradosso è stato oggetto di approfondimento da parte della presente dissertazione con lo scopo di capire se il fatto che le attività in cui si verifica questo stato siano interessanti per il soggetto possa essere in qualche modo collegato alla motivazione.
Dalla lettura di tali studi è emerso che lo stato di hyperfocus potrebbe riferirsi allo stesso stato che viene, invece, definito flow in studi empirici condotti su soggetti non diversificati in base a eventuali disturbi e che viene concettualizzato come uno stato di motivazione ottimale, associato a performance di livello elevato. Infatti, le caratteristiche descrittive dei due stati sono molto simili e potrebbero riferirsi ad un unico costrutto a base psicobiologica.
La presente dissertazione ha lo scopo di approfondire i correlati psicobiologici del disturbo e presentare i risultati del confronto tra la letteratura esistente sui correlati psicobiologici dello stato
di flow in campioni non diversificati e quella reperita sullo stato di hyperfocus in soggetti con DDAI. Tali risultati portano a ipotizzare che una stretta interazione tra particolari caratteristiche
dell'attività e predisposizione dei soggetti con DDAI allo stato di flow possa spiegare il paradosso costituito dalla capacità di sostenere un'attenzione focalizzata e di alta produttività in soggetti con
deficit di attenzione, come in un incastro perfetto mediato dalla motivazione intrinseca suscitata dal bilanciamento tra abilità del soggetto e difficoltà del compito.
E' possibile ipotizzare che una replica di alcuni studi già effettuati sullo stato di flow, ma eseguita su un gruppo di soggetti con DDAI e gruppo di controllo, utilizzando un compito intrinsecamente motivante e capace di fornire un feedback immediato, potrebbe chiarire se il deficit del controllo cognitivo nel DDAI sia specifico al contesto.
In campioni di soggetti non diversificati in base alla presenza o meno del DDAI, compiti intrinsecamente motivanti, caratterizzati da un perfetto bilanciamento tra abilità del soggetto e difficoltà del compito e capaci di fornire un feedback immediato, si sono rivelati capaci di produrre sotto-regolazione del Default Mode Network da parte del nucleo dorsale del rafe. In studi su soggetti con DDAI, purtroppo condotti attraverso la somministrazione di compiti che non rispondono alle caratteristiche favorenti lo stato di flow individuate da Csikszentmihalyi
(1975, 1993, 1996), è stata riscontrata una ridotta capacità di regolazione negativa del DMN.
E' possibile suggerire una replica dello studio che evidenzia la sotto-regolazione del DMN nello stato di flow, questa volta in soggetti con DDAI, mantenendo costante la capacità del compito di fornire un feedback immediato e manipolando la difficoltà del compito in rapporto all'abilità del soggetto, per verificare se la ridotta capacità di regolazione negativa nei soggetti con DDAI, verrebbe compensata dallo stato di flow che, come detto, in campioni di soggetti non diversificati, produce sotto-regolazione del DMN.
Inoltre, in uno studio su un campione di soggetti che non presentano DDAI, è emersa una significativa correlazione positiva tra alta disponibilità di recettori striatali D2 e propensione allo
stato di flow e, nei pazienti con DDAI, è emersa un'alta disponibilità di recettori D2 nel caudato e nel putamen. Un approfondimento di questa corrispondenza potrebbe chiarire se nei soggetti con DDAI esiste una propensione allo stato di flow.
Si può suggerire che un approccio capace di considerare i due stati come un unico costrutto a base psicobiologica, qualora empiricamente sostenuto, potrebbe non solo orientare la clinica, ma anche fornire una prospettiva applicativa per interventi educativi, psicologici e didattici

The poet Pentti Saarikoski (1937-1983) was one of the most significant Finnish writers of the 20th century. He was also a prolific translator, who received many prestigious awards for his literary production. Throughout his life Saarikoski showed evidence of a certain psychopathology and mental complications for which he was twice hospitalized. The paper argues that Saarikoski possessed a large number of autistic traits and elevated symptomatology of ADHD. The traits of these conditions are often found in persons with high creative achievement. The works of the psychiatrist Michael Fitzgerald provide the theoretical background, on which the biographic evidence from Saarikoski's childhood and adult life is analyzed. The identity diffusion under which the poet suffered can be shown as beneficial to this level of creativity. Saarikoski was an autistic writer, who visualized his poetry which eventually provided him with artistic identity. In addition to autistic traits and high intelligence, Saarikoski also sought novelty and sensation, which can be attributed to his ADHD traits.

This study examines the correlation of job performance and absenteeism rates with adult attention deficit disorder measurements, evaluations, and an outline of the methods that can be used in solving problems in workers with ADHD. In this context,the study was carried out on two separate production companies by calculating human capital loss of blue collar workers. Adult ADHD DSM-V model as well as Stroop Test in Tbag form applied and the results were examined by the relation of work performance, absenteeism and work accident.

This paper provides a brief introduction to a unique form of cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) which assists in managing the forms of executive dysfunction in ADHD. The hope of this paper is provide patients and professionals with a means of escaping the revolving door of consciousness common in this condition.