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Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression

Learning disorders are often associated with persistent hyperactivity and aggression and are part of a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders. A potential clue to understanding these linked phenomena is that physical exercise and passive forms of stimulation are calming, enhance cognitive function...

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Autor principal: Mawson, Anthony R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: International Scholarly Research Network 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671718/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23762766
http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/589792
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author Mawson, Anthony R.
author_facet Mawson, Anthony R.
author_sort Mawson, Anthony R.
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description Learning disorders are often associated with persistent hyperactivity and aggression and are part of a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders. A potential clue to understanding these linked phenomena is that physical exercise and passive forms of stimulation are calming, enhance cognitive functions and learning, and are recommended as complementary treatments for these problems. The theory is proposed that hyperactivity and aggression are intense stimulation-seeking behaviors (SSBs) driven by increased brain retinergic activity, and the stimulation thus obtained activates opposing nitrergic systems which inhibit retinergic activity, induce a state of calm, and enhance cognition and learning. In persons with cognitive deficits and associated behavioral disorders, the retinergic system may be chronically overactivated and the nitrergic system chronically underactivated due to environmental exposures occurring pre- and/or postnatally that affect retinoid metabolism or expression. For such individuals, the intensity of stimulation generated by SSB may be insufficient to activate the inhibitory nitrergic system. A multidisciplinary research program is needed to test the model and, in particular, to determine the extent to which applied physical treatments can activate the nitrergic system directly, providing the necessary level of intensity of sensory stimulation to substitute for that obtained in maladaptive and harmful ways by SSB, thereby reducing SSB and enhancing cognitive skills and performance.
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spelling pubmed-36717182013-06-12 Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression Mawson, Anthony R. ISRN Psychiatry Research Article Learning disorders are often associated with persistent hyperactivity and aggression and are part of a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders. A potential clue to understanding these linked phenomena is that physical exercise and passive forms of stimulation are calming, enhance cognitive functions and learning, and are recommended as complementary treatments for these problems. The theory is proposed that hyperactivity and aggression are intense stimulation-seeking behaviors (SSBs) driven by increased brain retinergic activity, and the stimulation thus obtained activates opposing nitrergic systems which inhibit retinergic activity, induce a state of calm, and enhance cognition and learning. In persons with cognitive deficits and associated behavioral disorders, the retinergic system may be chronically overactivated and the nitrergic system chronically underactivated due to environmental exposures occurring pre- and/or postnatally that affect retinoid metabolism or expression. For such individuals, the intensity of stimulation generated by SSB may be insufficient to activate the inhibitory nitrergic system. A multidisciplinary research program is needed to test the model and, in particular, to determine the extent to which applied physical treatments can activate the nitrergic system directly, providing the necessary level of intensity of sensory stimulation to substitute for that obtained in maladaptive and harmful ways by SSB, thereby reducing SSB and enhancing cognitive skills and performance. International Scholarly Research Network 2012-09-27 /pmc/articles/PMC3671718/ /pubmed/23762766 http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/589792 Text en Copyright © 2012 Anthony R. Mawson. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Mawson, Anthony R.
Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression
title Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression
title_full Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression
title_fullStr Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression
title_full_unstemmed Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression
title_short Toward a Theory of Childhood Learning Disorders, Hyperactivity, and Aggression
title_sort toward a theory of childhood learning disorders, hyperactivity, and aggression
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671718/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23762766
http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/589792
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