What Causes ADHD?

Although ADHD was first identified over a century ago, and is one of the most extensively researched psychiatric disorders, scientists are still unsure what causes ADHD. Research indicates that ADHD is most likely caused by a complex combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors, all of which combine to cause ADHD in a given person.

ADHD is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. There is no one cause of ADHD. It is not one factor, but a combination of factors, that cause a person to have ADHD.

What Kind of Factors Cause ADHD?

Although there is no singular cause of ADHD, researchers have identified several factors that contribute to the disease. These include certain genes, differences in brain structure and function, and environmental and social factors.

Genetic Causes of ADHD

Research, including twin studies and studies of families with multiple members who have the disease, has shown that ADHD is highly heritable. The fact that ADHD can be shown to run in families suggests that there may be some kind of genetic basis to the disease. However, a complex syndrome like ADHD involves numerous factors, only some of which are genetic. No single distinct gene has been identified as the cause of ADHD.

Although there is no single "ADHD gene", several genetic factors have been strongly linked to ADHD. These include two specific genes called DRD4 and DRD5, and both are involved in the brain's dopamine circuits. Individuals with ADHD show differences in their brain's regulation of dopamine, an important neurochemical associated with pursuing goals and seeking rewards. Another key genetic component associated with ADHD is Chromosome 16. Genetics factors linked to ADHD generally are associated with dopamine regulation, as well as with the structure and function of brain areas important to attention and concentration.

Certain genetic factors, which are inherited, may not be the sole cause of ADHD. They can, however, be shown to predispose some individuals more strongly to developing the disease. While ADHD is not caused solely by genes, there is definitely a genetic component to the disease.

Prenatal and Perinatal Causes of ADHD

In addition to genetics, ADHD has also been linked to certain types of contamination during fetal development. Exposure to certain substances can interfere with brain development, and can affect areas of the brain associated with learning, cognition, attention, and impulse control, becoming a possible cause of ADHD.

Factors during gestation and development that may contribute to causing ADHD include:

• Exposure to nicotine and other toxins from cigarettes, due to the mother smoking while pregnant
• Exposure to alcohol in utero
• Exposure to lead and other heavy metal toxins, either in utero or early in life
• Low birth weight, which can be caused by smoking as well as other factors

It is important that women avoid certain substances, including alcohol and cigarettes, during pregnancy. Exposure to these substances has lasting effects on the development of the child, including increasing susceptibility to ADHD.

Environmental and Social Causes of ADHD

Possible environmental and social causes of ADHD are not yet well understood. It is thought that environment does play a role in ADHD. Some have suggested that factors such as watching television, playing video games, and exposure to social stressors, could all contribute in some way to causing ADHD.

Studies have indicated a higher prevalence of ADHD in children from single-parent homes, from low-income households, or otherwise from family environments that may be stressful and inconsistent. Although the link is not yet well understood, this does indicate that the family environment may be a cause of ADHD.

One frequently suggested factor in in causing ADHD, has been television viewing among children. For the most part, television shows tend to feature many flashing, moving images, at a very fast pace. Some researchers have suggested that exposure to fast-paced TV images during early childhood could contribute to "rewiring" the brain to process brief information at a fast pace. This could interfere with ability to process more complex information over longer periods of time, such as the information in a textbook chapter or classroom lecture. It is not yet clear whether television causes ADHD, or whether children already disposed to ADHD are more likely to watch television. Still, many professionals advise that parents limit television viewing by children, especially very young children.

Along with television viewing, video games have also been proposed as a possible factor in causing ADHD. Like television, video games move at a fast pace. Video games also offer rewards-- getting to the next level or winning a new power-up-- in the short-term, a process which acts on the brain's dopamine circuits and results in feelings of pleasure. This may affect children's ability to handle situations, like learning in a classroom, that require longer periods of concentration, and which have delayed rewards.

The influence of social and environmental factors, including family environment and media exposure, on ADHD, is not entirely understood yet. Although watching television or playing video games are probably not, in themselves, enough to cause ADHD, there is evidence that these behaviors may contribute to the disorder.

So Does Anyone Know What Causes ADHD?

No one knows for sure what exactly causes ADHD. Scientific research has indicated a number of factors that appear to contribute to the disease. ADHD is most likely caused by a complex interplay of environmental, social, and genetic factors, which come together in certain ways to form the set of behaviors and characteristics that constitute ADHD.

NEUROFEEDBACK FOR ADHD

Weighing Alternative Treatments for ADHD

Sifting Through the ADHD Treatment Muck

With medication and therapy coming at high costs – monetarily and health-wise – many people are wondering if alternative treatments for ADHD are viable options that can actually help treat and control the problem. Though many of these treatments have been written off as hokey or impractical, they have actually experienced some degree of success if administered correctly. At the very least, they are at least worth looking into and considering.

Dietary Changes Lack Proof

When speaking about alternative treatments for ADHD, one of the first things that comes to mind is dietary modification. Historically, there was always thought to be a link between ADHD and sugar intake. This hypothesis has been researched extensively over the last several decades, and it has never once been conclusively shown to be true. Alternatively, in recent years, the thinking has shifted to adding more high-fiber and whole foods into a child’s diet may subdue ADHD symptoms or defeat the disorder altogether. While promoting a healthy and balanced diet in the lives of our children is certainly of paramount important, unfortunately research has again debunked this as a worthwhile combatant for ADHD.

Is the Answer in Your Back?

One really interesting theory that has surfaced amongst alternative treatments for ADHD has been that the disorder can be controlled through chiropractic medicine. Doctors have utilized several methodologies, including the correction of spinal imbalances and the realigning of cranial bones. Where the first method might have a little validity (although research has been inconclusive), the second one has been laughed off by most doctors, who are quick to point out that cranial bones do not move and therefore cannot be realigned.

Neurofeedback: The Last Treatment Standing

While most of the alternative treatments for ADHD have been debunked both here and elsewhere, there are some interesting new methods that actually are backed up by scientific research. One such method is called neurofeedback, a painless and noninvasive process in which the brain is taught to regulate dysfunctional patterns that may in fact be at the root of ADHD and its symptoms. After a comprehensive assessment, patients are taken through a series of guided brain exercises over the course of their treatment sessions. These exercises slowly but surely retrain the brain to vigilantly police its own activity, and thereby quelling the more problematic symptoms of ADHD.

Now that you have sorted through the various alternative treatments for ADHD, it is time to embrace BrainCore’s dynamic and transformative neurofeedback therapy; to learn more click here today.

Five Alternative and Natural Remedies for ADD

Beyond Prescriptions and Therapy

Alternative and natural remedies for ADD have never been more important. Pharmaceuticals have gotten more and more complicated over the years, and now we hardly even know what is going into our bodies or those of our children. Taking a doctor’s word for it is usually fine, but in this case, even they probably don’t know the intricacies of each pill and what the long-term effects could be. Here are five alternative and natural remedies for ADD that, when administered properly, should subdue symptoms in just the same manner but without the inherent risks:

·         Massage: This may sound hokey or altogether unrealistic, but massage is one of the most effective natural remedies for ADD. The long and short of it is this: children and adults with ADD or ADHD tend to be extremely over-stimulated, and this is reflected throughout their bodies, especially in their nervous system and muscles. Massage has an obvious soothing effect on these systems, as well as helping divert pent up energy elsewhere within the body. This has been shown to directly correlate to more productive behavior. Nighttime massage immediately prior to bed has proven particularly effective, especially in children.

·         Vitamins/Supplements: Fish oil, zinc, melatonin, magnesium, B and C vitamins, and probiotics have all shown measured success as natural remedies for ADD. When it comes to finding the right vitamins for you and suppressing ADD symptoms, find what works best for you by trying a few. Do not despair, however, as all of these can be healthy parts of your diet even outside of treating the disorder.

·         Yoga/Meditation/Relaxation Exercises: Finding your center, learning how to calm yourself, and taking active control of your body are incredibly useful tools in combating inattentiveness and other symptoms of ADD – each of these exercises focuses on instilling these concepts.

·         Diet and Exercise Modifications: This is not so much among the natural remedies for ADD, but is more of an alternative approach. Keeping diet simple, free of complex additives, caffeine, and unnecessary sugar is of absolute utmost importance. We do not truly know how some of these ingredients affect mood, behavior, and long-term health, so the best approach is to steer clear. In terms of exercise, as noted above, people with ADD often have very over-charged systems. Expend that energy, and do it in a healthy way through daily exercise.

·         Neurofeedback: This is a really exciting alternative approach to ADD treatment. The greatest part about neurofeedback is that it is designed to set up patients for long-term symptom suppression – a life without the frustration of ADD. Doctors first will identify what brainwave patterns have gone awry, causing the loss of focus and concentration characterized by ADD. After this, they will develop a treatment plan unique for each patient. All done noninvasively and without poking or prodding, neurofeedback is the ultimately serves to your brain to self-regulate through guided brain exercises.

To find out more about alternative and natural remedies for ADD such as BrainCore’s awe-inspiring neurofeedback therapy; read on and click here today.