ADD and Dopamine

Impaired dopamine system and ADD are linked

Kathie Nunley, EdD., offers dozens of research-based body/brain articles especially designed for newsletters on her Brains.org website. Check out her Hot Topics from ADD to Violence, another great resource. Kathy is the originator of Layered Curriculum, a comprehensive sensory-motor enriching approach to meeting all learning styles.

Here is a HOT TOPIC that Kathie sends out with her free newsletters.

HOT TOPIC # 1: New research indicates that persons with Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) may have a shortened perception of the time span of temporal events - particularly in working memory. This is suspected to be the result of an impaired dopamine system involving the prefrontal cortex. They tested this theory by checking what was the minimum tempo that rhythmic movement can be sustained in both persons with and withoutADD. It turns out that those with ADD have a rhythm cut-off that was much sooner than those without. Apparently these problems with dopamine delivery have recalibrated the internal clock that sets the time scale for our subjective thought process. Gilden, D. & Marusich, L. (2009). Neuropsychology. Vol 23(2), 265-269.

Followers of this blog know how large muscle movement over time, produces and pumps dopamine.