A longitudinal study has demonstrated that the brains of children with Attention Deficit Disorder mature more slowly than the brains of children without the disorder. It’s being suggested as a reason that some people appear to grow out of the problem in their twenties.
All Things Considered, November 12, 2007 · A new study may explain why about half the children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) seem to grow out of it by the time they’re in their 20s.
The study, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that some brain regions in children with ADHD tend to mature later than normal….
A team at the National Institute of Mental Health used multiple snapshots of a child’s brain taken at regular intervals as he or she grew up. They assembled these snapshots into time-lapse movies.
“You can see a wave of brain maturation going from this middle line,” says lead author Philip Shaw, pointing to an animated brain image on his laptop. “The last bit to mature are these bits in the middle, which are important for the control of action and attention.”
