ADHD: 10 Years Later

Estimates of children struggling with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) vary, but the Centers for Disease Control puts the number at a stunningly high 25 percent. Whatever the number, ADHD affects too many children at school, at home, and with their peers, and often persists into adulthood. The cause is as yet unknown, although genetic factors and their interaction with the environment are known to be pivotal. Ten years ago a landmark study showed that the structure of the brains of children with ADHD differs from that of unaffected children. Since that study, enhancements in imaging have given researchers a better look at key hubs in the brain and how they network—advances that could prove useful in the control and treatment of ADHD in both children and adults.