ADHD has a high incidence in children. The main symptoms are scattered attention to boring stimuli, impulsivity and restlessness. New neurophysiological techniques help to detect it early.
What is ADHD and how to detect it
Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) is a pathology with a high incidence in the child population and has a significant impact on the family and school environment, as stated by experts in Clinical Neurophysiology.
The main symptoms are: labile and scattered attention -especially for sustained attention to routine or boring stimuli-, impulsivity and motor restlessness exaggerated for the child’s age and lack of purposefulness.
Patients with ADHD present alterations in the different components of executive functions, such as response inhibition, vigilance, working memory and planning, which are associated with altered brain functioning, especially in the prefrontal lobe. There is also evidence to suggest that it is a disorder of cortical maturation rather than a neurodevelopmental deviation.
Types of ADHD according to DSM-IV and common diagnostic methods
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) distinguishes 3 subtypes of ADHD:
– attention-predominant,
– hyperactive/impulsive-predominant, and
– combined
The classic criteria for clinical diagnosis according to DSM-IV-TR are strictly behavioral, despite the fact that it is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may involve observational bias on the part of parents or guardians, running the risk of establishing erroneous diagnostic criteria.
Technology applied to neuroscience has allowed greater precision both in the functional exploration of the brain and in the confirmation, classification and development of differential diagnoses for disorders such as ADHD.