What’s the Deal With Dopamine and ADHD? |
This is part 4 of a 5-part series on modern perspectives on ADHD. Part 3, "Is ADHD Really a Disorder?" is available here.
If a distinct population of individuals have something we describe as ADHD, there should be clear biological markers for it. While structural differences have been found in the ADHD brain—including corpus callosum, cerebellum, and basal ganglia reduced white matter volumes1—one integral part of the story appears to lie with our neurotransmitters.
Of particular interest in the ADHD brain is dopamine. Dopamine is a signalling molecule (neurotransmitter) released when we’re stimulated by something interesting or rewarding. Dopamine is also required for control of our executive functions (thoughts, feelings, and behaviours). You could think of it like we earn dopamine through rewarding activity and spend it immediately to operate our executive functions.
When we’re adequately stimulated and our brain detects enough dopamine, we feel satisfied and content with staying focused, calm, and still; when we’re inadequately stimulated and dopamine signals are low, we feel dissatisfied and will start searching for stimulation. This could involve moving our "attentional spotlight" around, focusing on objects in our surroundings or