Neuroscience of ADHD

A new technique for brain mapping has shed more light on the neuroscience of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Large deformation diffeomorphic mapping (LDDMM) provides detailed analysis of the shape of specific brain regions, allowing for precise examination of brain structures well beyond what has been examined in previous MRI studies. Researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore scanned 113 children, aged between 8 and 13. 47 of them had ADHD while the rest were developing normally. The boys with ADHD had significantly smaller basal ganglia volumes and abnormalities in several regions of the basal ganglia which is important for basic motor response control, which may explain why children with ADHD have difficulty suppressing impulsive actions. However, the girls with ADHD had no significant brain differences compared to the unaffected children.

You can read more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/11/18/structure-of-brain-may-influence-adhd/3362.html