What is most encouraging about the scientific world we live in today is its inexhaustible exploration of different approaches to the same problem.
ADHD is a case in point.
Research has demonstrated that the causes of hyperactivity and impulsiveness run the gamut from nutritional deficiencies to delay in brain maturation.
Now new research proposes another reason for the problem: faulty time perception may be the culprit behind hyperactivity.
What is Time Perception? Time perception is the ability of our brain to perceive the passage of time so that we can carry on with critical decisions in our daily lives.
These critical decisions include knowing when to stop at a red light or when to catch a ball.
The brain has its own time-keeping system that keeps our reflexes and responses in rhythm.
When this area of the brain is compromised, lower levels of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, are released.
What happens when Time Perception is flawed? Stroke patients with damage to certain areas in the brain experience impaired time perception.
What seems fast to us becomes incredibly slow for those with faulty time keeping processes.
Attention is also focused now on ADHD children whose hyperactivity could be a direct result of this misperception of time.
What normal people would consider a short period of time is perhaps too long for the ADHD child; if this is the case, his fidgeting and hyperactivity can easily be understood.
What can be done about the problem of Time Perception? Researchers have known that ADHD children have low levels of dopamine.
Would raising the levels of dopamine make a difference in brain's time keeping function? That is exactly what Researcher Dr.
Katya Rubia did at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London.
Using MRI scans to study 2 groups of boys, one with ADHD and a control group of normal, healthy boys, she compared the brain profiles of the children before and after medication was given to boost the dopamine levels in the hyperactive group.
The results showed that the medication (Ritalin) enhances brain regions important for time perception by normalizing brain functions in these children.
Results showed that the ADHD boys made several errors in tests conducted before medication.
After medication, the brain regions were normalized to such an extent that their performance was indistinguishable from that of the control group of healthy boys.
Despite the concern many parents have expressed about the use of Ritalin, its success in normalizing brain function cannot be ignored.
More work needs to be done to in this area so that a safe and acceptable manner of use and delivery can be made possible.
ADHD is a case in point.
Research has demonstrated that the causes of hyperactivity and impulsiveness run the gamut from nutritional deficiencies to delay in brain maturation.
Now new research proposes another reason for the problem: faulty time perception may be the culprit behind hyperactivity.
What is Time Perception? Time perception is the ability of our brain to perceive the passage of time so that we can carry on with critical decisions in our daily lives.
These critical decisions include knowing when to stop at a red light or when to catch a ball.
The brain has its own time-keeping system that keeps our reflexes and responses in rhythm.
When this area of the brain is compromised, lower levels of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, are released.
What happens when Time Perception is flawed? Stroke patients with damage to certain areas in the brain experience impaired time perception.
What seems fast to us becomes incredibly slow for those with faulty time keeping processes.
Attention is also focused now on ADHD children whose hyperactivity could be a direct result of this misperception of time.
What normal people would consider a short period of time is perhaps too long for the ADHD child; if this is the case, his fidgeting and hyperactivity can easily be understood.
What can be done about the problem of Time Perception? Researchers have known that ADHD children have low levels of dopamine.
Would raising the levels of dopamine make a difference in brain's time keeping function? That is exactly what Researcher Dr.
Katya Rubia did at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London.
Using MRI scans to study 2 groups of boys, one with ADHD and a control group of normal, healthy boys, she compared the brain profiles of the children before and after medication was given to boost the dopamine levels in the hyperactive group.
The results showed that the medication (Ritalin) enhances brain regions important for time perception by normalizing brain functions in these children.
Results showed that the ADHD boys made several errors in tests conducted before medication.
After medication, the brain regions were normalized to such an extent that their performance was indistinguishable from that of the control group of healthy boys.
Despite the concern many parents have expressed about the use of Ritalin, its success in normalizing brain function cannot be ignored.
More work needs to be done to in this area so that a safe and acceptable manner of use and delivery can be made possible.