ADHD was the first disorder found to be the result of a deficiency of a specific neurotransmitter — in this case, norepinephrine — and the first disorder found to respond to medications to correct this underlying deficiency. Like all neurotransmitters, norepinephrine is synthesized within the brain.
ADHD brains have low levels of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. Norepinephrine is linked arm-in-arm with dopamine. Dopamine is the thing that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure center. The ADHD brain has impaired activity in four functional regions of the brain.
People with ADHD have higher chances of being nutrient deficient than the average person. People with ADHD are twice as likely to suffer iron-deficiency anemia compared to members of the general population. 78.4% of children with ADHD are deficient in vitamin D compared to 48% of children without ADHD.
People with ADHD have at least one defective gene, the DRD2 gene that makes it difficult for neurons to respond to dopamine, the neurotransmitter that is involved in feelings of pleasure and the regulation of attention.
One study found that kids with ADHD don't have the same brain connections as those without. An ADHD brain may have different connections between the frontal cortex and the visual processing area. This means that people with ADHD might process things differently than people without the condition.
For many individuals, ADHD impairments are made worse by their struggles with excessive anxiety, persistent depression, compulsive behaviors, difficulties with mood regulation, learning disorders, or other psychiatric disorders that may be transient, recurrent, or persistently disruptive of their ability to perform the ...
Lack of Dopamine in the ADHD Brain
As you know, one trademark of ADHD is low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine — a chemical released by nerve cells into the brain.
If your child has ADHD, they may be low in dopamine but high in something called dopamine transporters. That's because their low dopamine may actually result from having too many of the transporters that take dopamine out of their brain cells.
Stimulant medications that treat ADHD can prevent the reuptake of dopamine, increasing brain levels of the chemical. Lifestyle changes can also help, especially in conjunction with standard ADHD treatments. Exercise, a healthy diet, and therapy all offer potential benefits.
Magnesium L Threonate (or magnesium citrate in those who can only take gummies) are the preparations that has been most studied and show the highest benefit for ADHD, cognition, mood, and anxiety.
Sodas, Caffeine, and High-Fructose Corn Syrup Cause ADHD Symptoms. If you have ADHD, consider eliminating soda. (Even if you don't have ADHD, saying no to soda is a good idea.) These drinks often have many of the same sugars and sweeteners that make candy a bad idea for kids on the ADHD diet.
Causes of ADHD
Recent studies link genetic factors with ADHD. In addition to genetics, scientists are studying other possible causes and risk factors including: Brain injury. Exposure to environmental risks (e.g., lead) during pregnancy or at a young age.
More Dopamine, Please
However, dopamine-increasing behaviors are even more gratifying to ADHD brains. Key aspects of the reward system are underactive in ADHD brains, making it difficult to derive reward from ordinary activities.
A chronic deficit of serotonin (5-HT) at the synapse may trigger symptoms of ADHD.
ADHD brains smaller overall and in certain regions
For example, some suggested that the basal ganglia – an area of the brain that controls emotion, cognition, and voluntary movement – is involved. They found that two regions in the ganglia, the caudate and putamen, tend to be smaller in people with ADHD.
Finally, supplementing vitamins B and C can also help alleviate ADD and ADHD symptoms. Vitamin C, like zinc, iron, and magnesium, is used to produce neurotransmitters like dopamine. Additionally, vitamin B deficiency is linked to irritability and fatigue in children.
INCUP is an acronym that stands for interest, novelty, challenge, urgency, and passion. The term was first proposed by psychologist William Dodson, who suggested that these five things are the top motivating factors for someone with ADHD.
Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do. People with ADHD do think differently though, in a sense.
Low dopamine symptoms can include a lack of enthusiasm for things you usually enjoy and are interested in. Plus, having low dopamine may have a low sex drive. You may also experience physical troubles such as insomnia, tremors, muscle spasms, stiffness, and difficulty moving.
It is the target of therapeutic drugs, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin), which blocks the dopamine transporter, thereby increasing extracellular dopamine levels.
According to Frank, stimulants such as Ritalin increase the amount of dopamine released in the striatum, a key region in the brain related to motivation, action and cognition.
It's a constant struggle to keep your brain balanced with just enough—but not too much—of that good feeling. Since ADHDers have less dopamine1, they may find themselves seeking out anything and everything that might make them feel good. This is called “dopamine-seeking behavior”.