If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  DG Dispatch - AAN: Differences In Brain Size Found In Hyperactive Children By Cameron Johnston Special to DG News TORONTO, ON -- April 19, 1999 -- Children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to have less grey and white matter in the frontal portions of their brains than non-hyperactive controls. It is believed that about three to five percent of the children have ADHD. According to a study presented at the American Academy of Neurology, hyperactive children appear to have less grey matter (or brain cells) in the right frontal lobe of the brain, as well as less white matter -- the neuronal connections between cells in both the right and left frontal lobes. Among those with ADHD, the mean volume of grey matter in the right frontal lobe of the brain was 128 cc, whereas for normal controls, it was 139 cc. Similarly, the grey matter in the left lobe was 120 cc versus 128 cc. in the controls. Overall, hyperactive children have slightly smaller brains, although this difference is not significant researchers said. Stewart Mostofsky and colleagues from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD, explained that ADHD is not a matter of the child failing to understand information. It is now understood that in children with this condition, the brain simply fails to process a response to the information and, therefore, the child’s inhibitory controls do not function as they should. An increasing body of scientific literature suggests that the circuitry in the right frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling motor impulses and hyperactive behaviours.
|
