Sunday, March 11, 2012

ADHD as a default brain network problem?







Trends in Cognitive Sciences, January 2012, Vol. 16, No. 1

I just skimmed this excellent article which is consistent with the hypothesis that problems with controlled attention (focus) may be responsible for a number of the behavioral symptoms of ADHD....and this is due to the poor ability to suppress the random self-talk of the default brain network. As per the IQs Reading feature, an annotated copy of the article is now available.

Based on my reading and research regarding Interactive Metronome technology, I advanced the position that the efficacy of this technology in improving focus or controlled attention is that it helps to "quiet the busy mind" that is due to the REST (random, episodic, spontaneous thought or thinking) of the default brain network. In simple terms, poor ability to suppress or quiet the default network results in poor controlled attention and focus...and one has a hard time with inhibiting the intrusion of these task-irrelevant thoughts when trying to engage in controlled, deliberate cognitive tasks.

This article reviews research that suggests that ADHD may be a default brain network disorder. The authors state "In 2007, Sonuga-Barke and Castellanos suggested that ADHD could be considered a default network disorder"...and the authors of the current article agree.


- Posted using BlogPress from Kevin McGrew's iPad

2 comments:

Anne said...

Any behavior that we have is related to our brain response. If we have disorders it means we have something wrong with a part of our brain. Having such doesn’t mean that we can’t achieve success. Many people have become very successful in various fields despite of their behavioral disorder.

anilkuttappan1 said...

In ADHD, brain is unable to do multi-tasks at a particular time, so brain takes its defense system, to shut down extra-tasks and try to concentrate on a particular task he concentrate, but there also brain fails and do nothing at all, in order to save the energy dissipation mode to a off mode. This shows the inability to do the multi-tasks of the brain networks due to the large informations flooded in the particular regions of brain or all over the brain networks, then brain activates its default mode, in order to save the brain from traumas or damages-its can be tell as one kind of Defense system of brain.There may have numerous factors such as the wrong pathways adopted and acquired by the brain or the hormonal imbalances such as thyroid dysfunctions or lack of energy inputs in brain due to vitamin deficiencies or mental illness due to various factors.