What Causes ADD/ADHD?
Medical experts believe that brain structure and function play a role in causing ADD and ADHD. The brain’s frontal lobe (located near our forehead) has often been the point of concentration by medical research teams. Through the use of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) these teams have found that the frontal lobes are 3 to 4 percent smaller in children who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Medical science also believes that one of the brain’s main sources of energy, glucose, is used less in the areas that control attention in adults who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD than adult who have not been diagnosed with this condition.
Since many individuals who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD have responded well to stimulants to control this disorder, dopamine (a chemical neurotransmitter in the brain), is thought to be lacking in children with ADD/ADHD. Scientist hypothesize that since dopamine, which also reduces appetite and causes insomnia, have the same side effects as many stimulants, that this may be a cause to continue further research in this area.
