Adult attention-deficit disorder

Adult attention deficit disorder (AADD) is the common terminology for the psychiatric condition currently known as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), when it occurs in adulthood. Although the exact prevalence in adults is unknown, epidemiologic studies thus far reveal that the condition, marked by inattentiveness, difficulty getting work done, procrastination, or organization problems, probably exists in about 2-4% of adults. The condition persists to adulthood in about half of children diagnosed with the disorder.

History

The conditions currently termed under the ADHD designation have only become recognized in the past 100 years, and were first recognized in young children. In 1937, one doctor in Rhode Island gave a stimulant to hyperactive children, and observed that they became calmer, the exact opposite of the response in non-hyperactive children. By the 1950s, research clearly indicated that the hyperactive behavior was not by choice, shifting the study to neurological sources. Professionals learned how to tell ADD apart from conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. It was a matter of volition. ADD is involuntary and spontaneous; other two are premeditated.

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In the 1970’s, researchers realized that ADHD didn’t disappear in puberty, and the condition was formally recognized as afflicting adults in 1978. When the invisible attentional component was recognized shortly thereafter, the disorder was renamed attention deficit disorder. Then, the hyperactivity component, so visible especially in boys, was added.

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In the 1990’s, the new tools of MRI, PET and spec scans demonstrated that the brains of ADHD persons are different. Alan Scentian published pet scan studies in which two groups of people with the use of radioactive glucose used by the brain for energy (scan shows brain activity in color) demonstrated that the frontal lobes of ADHD people are smaller, conclusively proving that there are biological differences.

Related Topics:
MRI - PET - Alan Scentian

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