This is a news analysis made from the statistical procedures used, findings and conclusions found from the newspaper report regarding the level of brain maturity in cases of a child with ADHD. This study uses quantitative research as a statistical procedure along with the use of comparison and contrast in previous studies done. Findings and conclusions gathered in this study are also further explained with regards to their appropriateness.
According to an advanced high-precision imaging study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), key brain areas of kids with Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder (ADHD) develops more slowly than youngsters.
Previous brain imaging studies failed to detect the developmental lag because they focused on the size of the relatively large lobes of the brain. The sharp differences emerged only after a new image analysis technique allowed the researchers to pinpoint the thickening and thinning of thousands of cortex sites in hundreds of children and teens, with and without the disorder. Instead of just focusing on the four lobes of the brain, this study viewed at least 40,000 of the cortex sites, to give a more detailed view of the focal and regional areas where marked developmental delay is most likely to happen (, 2007).
In many instances, ADHD and other problems with hyperactivity are not diagnosed until a child enters kindergarten or elementary school, around the age of five or six, in other cases, it is often misdiagnosed as a conduct disorder or other associated pervasive childhood disorders. ADHD is classified as Axis-I General Mental Disorder according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR), (, 1994) wherein the ADHD child must show some of the defining symptoms of ADHD before the age of seven. The symptoms may be of the different etiology such as biological, environmental, genetics etc., nevertheless, brain scans result remains relatively the same. In the said research led by Dr. of NIMH, where researchers scanned most of the 446 participants – ranging from preschoolers (aged 4-6 years old) to young adults (aged 21-25 years old) – at least twice at about three-year intervals. It reveals that the brain of a child with ADHD matures a few years late but still follow the same pattern of development. The developmental lag can be as short as three years or as long as five years, most of which happens in the cortex area of the brain. Based from the findings using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which they focused on the age when cortex thickening during childhood gives way to thinning following puberty, as unused neural connections are pruned for optimal efficiency during the teen years. These frontal areas support the ability to suppress inappropriate actions and thoughts, focus attention, remember things from moment to moment, work for reward, and control movement – functions often disturbed in people with ADHD. It is necessary to point out these factors as the frontal lobe is the seat of cognitive maturity. Delayed development in the frontal area is correlated with the different symptoms exhibited by a child with ADHD, such classic manifestations like: hyperactivity, impulsitivity and inattentiveness. Several symptoms also associated with delayed frontal lobe maturation are attention-demanding behavior, school difficulties, learning disorders, resistant behavior, oppositional, domineering behavior, difficulty in coordination and emotional disorders, although this symptoms may/may not be present at all in a child with ADHD. The results of this study is synonymous with the results of MRI study done last June, 2006 wherein NIMH intramural researchers found that parts of the brain’s outer layer that controls attention is thinner in youth with ADHD and remains thin in those with less improvement, perhaps contributing to their impaired recovery. However, in teens that showed improvement, the cortex thickened on the right side, suggesting how brains changes may help explain improvements in coping with ADHD, report Drs. and , , and .
The 2007 research study that uses scans to measure the cortex thickness at 40,000 points in the brains of 223 children with ADHD and 223 others who were developing in a typical way, also revealed thickness in sensory and motor areas. Sensory and motor areas are also part of the cerebellum or the cortex. The sensory area is for sensory integration and interpretation while the motor area is responsible for voluntary movements. The findings indicate that sensory and motor areas appeared to be relatively thick in childhood, due to the delay of the frontal cortex, coordination in the motor area is affected as well. However, the motor cortex in the ADHD patients was seen to mature faster than normal, suggesting that both slower development of behavioral control and advanced motor development might both be required for the restlessness and fidgetiness that characterize an ADHD diagnosis. Aside from the delay, both groups showed a similar back-to-front development of brain maturation with different areas peaking in thickness at different times. This contrast with the pattern of development seen in other disorders such as autism, where the peak of cortical thickening occurs much earlier than normal.
These results could give the families of those with ADHD an assurance that their children could still have a normal upbringing despite some delays, it could also help them to adapt different coping mechanisms, and it would also make the parents more understanding, knowledgeable and sympathetic of their children’s condition. In addition in the said research where Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been used as a medium of the study, Dr. said that, MRI brain scans are still an experimental research tool and cannot yet be used to diagnose or predict outcomes for individuals with ADHD (, 2006). Despite the promising and rather a more accurate results, usage of MRI for diagnosing ADHD is still in infancy, methods of screening neuropsychological disorders such as ADHD is still limited to some more practical and inexpensive methods such as Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) where a number of criteria are listed to diagnose ADHD, most of which are the presenting symptoms of the disorder. These methods may not be as advanced as MRI nor other brain imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan), but it is proven effective in ADHD screening as well.
The findings and conclusions gathered and compiled in this study can be said as a big leap in better understanding of the Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), brain imaging techniques shows a much more detailed view to further explain the symptoms underlying the disorder. The research did not only focus in the physical changes that the brain undergoes but also with their corresponding behavioral changes. It also highlights how an alteration in the brains physical shape can affect the developmental milestone of the child and how an alteration in a certain part of the brain can be related to an improved condition of the client. However, the quantitative method used in this research does not center on children alone, it also used young adults as a tool, making the study broader in terms of scope and results may vary because of the usage of two different age groups. This gives us a view that ADHD does not stop when a child grows or hits puberty, it is still present, but behavioral differences and brain changes may or may not be seen.
The findings and conclusions generated from the research could also served as a tool in giving the ADHD child proper education and for teachers to adopt a more suitable method of teaching an ADHD child based on the developmental milestones and delays that would be encountered. Furthermore, the research done could serve as a comparison tool for future researchers who want to undertake the same study.
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