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Areas of the Brain Affected by ADHD. The primary areas of the brain that are affected in ADHD are: Frontal Lobe (anterior cingulate cortex - acc , prefrontal cortex - pfc , orbitofrontal cortex - ofc , dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - dpfc ) Temporal Lobe
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Areas of the Brain Affected by ADHD The primary areas of the brain that are affected in ADHD are: • Frontal Lobe (anterior cingulate cortex - acc, prefrontal cortex - pfc, orbitofrontal cortex - ofc, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - dpfc) • Temporal Lobe • Limbic System (striatum, thalamus, amygdala, corpus collosum) • Cerebellum (Kolb and Whishaw, 2008; Cubilo, et al, 2012)
Executive Functions • These areas of the brain are largely associated with Executive Functions (EF). Skill sets that make up EF include: • goal-directed behaviour • set-shifting • selective attention • interference control • planning • decision making • foresight • working memory • motor inhibition • (Stuss and Alexander, 2000; Cubillo, et al, 2012)
Brown’s Model http://www.drthomasebrown.com/brown_model/index.html (Brown, 2005)
Executive Function and Parts of the Brain Activation – Organizing, Prioritizing, and Activating • TL, DLPFC, PFC, Limbic Focus – Focusing, Sustaining, and Shifting Attention • FPFC, DLPFC, Limbic Effort – Regulating Alertness, Sustaining Effort, Processing Speed • Thalamus (Kolb and Whishaw, 2008; Aguiar, et al., 2012; Cubillo, et al., 2012)
Executive Function and Parts of the Brain Emotion – Managing Frustration and Modulating Emotion • PFC, Amygdala, Thalymus, OFC Memory – Working Memory and Accessing Recall • ACC, PFC, Temporal Lobe, Limbic System, Thalymus Action – Monitoring and Regulating Action • PFC, DLPFC (Kolb and Whishaw, 2008; Aguiar, et al., 2012; Cubillo, et al., 2012)
Dopamine and Norepinephrine Circuitry • The circuitry associated with EF is largely mediated by the dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters (Aguiar, et al., 2012).
References • Brown, T. P. D. (2006). Attention deficit disorder: The unfocused mind in children and adults. Yale University Press. • Cubillo, A., Halari, R., Smith, A., Taylor, E., & Rubia, K. (2012). A review of fronto-striatal and fronto-cortical brain abnormalities in children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and new evidence for dysfunction in adults with ADHD during motivation and attention. Cortex, 48(2), 194-215. • Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. Q. (2008). Fundamentals of human neuropsychology. Worth Publishers. • Stuss, D. T., Alexander, M. P. (2000). Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view. Psychological Research. 63(3e4): 289e298, 2000.