A major international collaboration has produced the first genetic map of the cerebral cortex, identifying more than 300 genetic variants that influence the structure of the key brain region…“We found that the genetic variants that are linked to a smaller surface area of the cerebral cortex—or less folding—also contribute to a greater risk of ADHD,…

A new study comparing genetics and the neural wiring of the brain suggests a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) results from a combination of factors. Investigators discovered that it takes many common genetic variations combining together in one individual to increase risk substantially…The study appears in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

Parents of children who play a lot of video games can breathe a sigh of relief: gaming won’t cause or intensify their child’s ADHD symptoms. “We found no negative consequences for children who spent more time gaming,” says Professor Frode Stenseng at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU)Department of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms may be associated with obesity-related eating patterns in early childhood, according to study data published in Pediatric Obesity. The investigators abstracted data from the Newborn Epigenetics Study (NEST), a pre-birth cohort founded in 2005 to examine the effect of environmental exposures on development outcomes.

Despite progress in pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) research over the past decade, no one genetic variant or currently available pharmacogenomics test has predicted with precision which ADHD medications will be most effective for individual patients, according to a review article published in CNS Drugs.

The response to the pandemic among kids spans the spectrum. Some are enjoying the novelty of time off from school, while others are experiencing what Chicago-based clinical psychologist John Duffy described as “a level of fear approaching terror.” “What kids are telling me is that they are afraid of the unknown,” says Duffy, author of…

Shankman challenges ADHD individuals to see their diagnosis as a gift, a superpower to make positive choices and use one’s “faster brain” to channel all that hyper-focused energy to do amazing things. Shankman shares his rules for life for those with and even without ADHD, to be more productive, avoid burnout and truly thrive.

Adolescents with anxiety are at risk for future psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal ideation, according to a study published in BMC Psychiatry. Anxiety disorders, which include disorders like social anxiety disorder and panic disorder, are the most widespread mental health disorders in the western world. These disorders often make their appearances in childhood or young adulthood…

Specifically, children whose mothers were exposed in pregnancy to fields of more than 1.3 milligauss (mG) during normal activities were more than twice as likely to develop ADHD as those exposed to lower levels (adjusted hazard ratio 2.01, 95% CI 1.06-3.81), reported De-Kun Li, MD, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, and colleagues.

Children and young people of low socioeconomic status are more likely to receive medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than their wealthier peers, according to study data published in BJPsych Open. This cross-sectional study cohort comprised children with a diagnosis of ADHD who were seen at participating secondary care centers in Sheffield, United Kingdom, between January…

There’s a new study out that emphasizes how having a child with ADHD has implications for how parents spend their time. In the study, researchers surveyed parents of 1,600 children with ADHD and 11,923 without, looking at how those parents were involved in different aspects of their children’s lives. One interesting finding was that parents…

Trying to teach a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a different job than parenting. You know that ADHD affects the ability of children to learn in a number of ways (see below) — such children can be forgetful, easily distracted and impulsive — but you may not have seen how that plays out daily in…