Dr. Marx posted the letters to the editor about the sensational NYT article “The Natural Fix” for ADHD.
I was surprised that they’re so positive. And from some apparently credentialed people. And there wasn’t a single negative one.
Very surprised.
Am I once again just being too suspicious?
What do you think???
I promised to provide summaries of the studies I quoted:
The brain has two systems, one is on when our brain is resting, and another when we are focusing on something. When one of them is on, the other is supposed to be off. But in us ADDers, they both stay on all the time. We are pressing the accelerator and the brakes at the same time. And that persists even in people who appear to have outgrown their ADD ADHD.
Also our brains have fewer dopamine receptors in the reward network, which suggests it would take something extra intense to satisfy us.
Our brains are different.
Yes, Virginia, ADD ADHD exists.
The quotes from the studies are here
doug
Bonus Bonus link – ” The brain in ADD ADHD” -about basal ganglia
Bonus factoid:
People who have two long versions of a dopamine receptor gene are more likely to have ADD ADHD. This is a new concept to me and I haven’t digested it yet.
This makes everything clear now, right? Right?
ADDadultstrategies 
I think sometimes we forget that whereas the diagnosis of ADHD is given to millions most of the studies conducted on the ADHD population are the result of studying “tens” of people usually <20. All those who suffer from ADHD should not be lumped into one category. The DSM allows for subtyping, but more than likely a more refined recategorization is in order, not only because the tools for understanding the disorder are improving, but the perceptual nuances of the newer generations are changing.
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Rebecca – good info. I didn’t realize the studies had small numbers like that. Do you think this will turn out to be multiple genes and actually multiple subtypes, rather than one single condition?
Thank you for commenting.
Doug
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My daughter-in-law and I were just talking about my son’s ADHD and mine and I used that illustration about the gas and brake at the same time. She doesn’t have ADHD but is trying to understand.
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