ADHD
Episodes
In this clip, Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses ADHD, behavioral strategies, stimulant use, and his reasons for quitting nicotine and views on _Mucuna pruriens_.
Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses the role of dopamine in driving motivation and offers practical tools for enhancing mood and focus.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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In this clip, Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses ADHD, behavioral strategies, stimulant use, and his reasons for quitting nicotine and views on _Mucuna pruriens_.
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Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses the role of dopamine in driving motivation and offers practical tools for enhancing mood and focus.
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Rhonda Exercise Cancer Diet Sleep Heart Disease Omega-3 ADHD Sugar Sulforaphane Sauna Dairy Supplements Red Light TherapyDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Rhonda Vitamin D Exercise Sleep Omega-3 Fasting Pregnancy ADHD Muscle Autophagy Resveratrol Sulforaphane Metformin Supplements Ketogenic Diet Wearable TechnologyDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
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Young people with ADHD face heightened loneliness and related mental health challenges, study reveals. journals.sagepub.com
Loneliness is a profound emotional and psychological state that can have far-reaching effects on mental health, especially among young people, for whom increases in depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation often accompany their loneliness. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that loneliness is more intense among young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Researchers analyzed the findings of 23 studies to determine how loneliness levels differed between young people (under age 25) with or without ADHD. Then, they looked at links between loneliness and mental health problems in young people with ADHD.
They found that young people with ADHD experience considerably higher levels of loneliness than those without. They also found a correlation between loneliness and various mental health problems among young people with ADHD.
ADHD is a neurobehavioral condition characterized by inattention and/or hyperactive or impulsive behavior. It affects people across the lifespan and influences aspects of their academic, occupational, and social functioning.
These findings suggest that young people with ADHD are particularly vulnerable to loneliness and the mental health problems that accompany it. Sleep deprivation can contribute to feelings of loneliness, too. Learn more in this clip featuring sleep expert Dr. Matthew Walker.
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Ketogenic diet may alleviate ADHD symptoms by altering gut microbiota and boosting neurotransmitter expression. journals.plos.org
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurobehavioral condition observed in children and adults. A recent study in mice suggests that a ketogenic diet reduces symptoms of ADHD via alterations in the gut microbiota.
Researchers conducted experiments using two groups of rats: one with ADHD-like symptoms and another without. They further divided each group into three subgroups: those fed a standard diet, those treated with methylphenidate (an ADHD drug commonly sold as Ritalin, Concerta, or others), and those fed a ketogenic diet.
They found that both the methylphenidate and ketogenic diet interventions reduced ADHD-like behaviors, such as increased activity and hypermobility. In addition, both groups demonstrated elevated levels of various neurotransmitters, including serotonin, norepinephrine and others, in brain tissue, along with changes in the expression of key proteins related to neural signaling. Interestingly, the ketogenic diet also altered the gut microbial composition in ADHD-like rats, especially microbes involved in amino acid and sugar metabolism.
These findings suggest that the ketogenic diet may hold promise as a novel approach for mitigating ADHD-related behavioral challenges, possibly by influencing the gut microbiota. It also underscores the robust effects the ketogenic diet has on the brain. Learn more in this clip featuring Dr. Dominic D'Agostino.
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Diet plays key role in ADHD symptoms in children news.osu.edu
Poor diet quality increases symptom severity in children with ADHD.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuro-behavioral condition characterized by inattention, impulsive behavior, and emotional dysregulation. The condition affects as many as 10 percent of children living in the United States and is more common among males than females. Findings from a recent study suggest that poor diet quality increases symptom severity in children with ADHD.
Although the causes of ADHD are likely multifactorial, evidence suggests that nutrition may influence both the etiology and severity of the condition. For example, some studies have shown that addressing micronutrient deficiencies, poor omega-3 fatty acid status, and food additive sensitivities may ameliorate symptoms of ADHD.
The study involved 134 children (ages 6 to 12 years) who had been diagnosed with ADHD and were enrolled in the Micronutrients for ADHD in Youth (MADDY) Study. Parents provided demographic information about the children’s gender, ethnicity, race, parent/guardians’ occupation, parent/guardians’ level of education, and family income, and completed food frequency questionnaires about the children’s diets. They also answered questions about the children’s behavior and ranked the severity of their ADHD symptoms.
The data revealed that the overall diet quality of this sample of children was slightly higher than that of the average child living in the United States. However, low fruit and vegetable intake was associated with having more severe ADHD symptoms, even after considering the children’s demographics. Interestingly, high intake of refined grains was associated with having less severe symptoms. The authors posited that this might have been because refined grains are fortified with micronutrients, compensating for what might be an otherwise poor diet.
These findings suggest that dietary factors play instrumental roles in ADHD symptom severity in children and underscore the importance of appropriate nutritional intake during childhood. Getting children to eat more fruits and vegetables can be challenging, however. This tasty, micronutrient-rich smoothie might be one way to help kids get the fruits and vegetables they need.
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Children whose mothers used acetaminophen during pregnancy were more likely to have ADHD symptoms or hyperkinetic disorder at age 7 www.sciencedaily.com
Acetaminophen use during pregnancy may impair fetal neurodevelopment.
Acetaminophen, a drug used to treat pain and reduce fever, has a generally favorable safety profile and is considered safe for use during pregnancy. However, evidence from studies in rodents and humans suggests that acetaminophen exerts endocrine-disrupting properties, which could alter neurological development. Findings from a 2014 study suggest that children of women who took acetaminophen during pregnancy are more likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like behavioral problems or hyperkinetic disorders.
ADHD is a neurobehavioral condition characterized by inattention and/or hyperactive or impulsive behavior that interferes with functioning, learning, or development. The condition affects more than 9 percent of children living in the United States. Hyperkinetic disorders are conditions characterized by abnormal involuntary movements, such as tremors or tics. The disorders affect 1 to 2 percent of people worldwide and are more common among males.
The investigators drew on data from nearly 65,000 children and mothers enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort study. They collected information about the mothers' acetaminophen use during pregnancy via phone interviews and identified children with ADHD or hyperkinetic disorders via parental reports, medical records, and prescription records.
They found that more than half of the women reported taking acetaminophen during their pregnancies. Children of the women who took the drug during pregnancy were 13 percent more likely to have ADHD-like behaviors at the age of 7 years; 29 percent more likely to take ADHD medications; and 37 percent more likely to be diagnosed with a hyperkinetic disorder at birth. These findings held true even after considering possible confounders, such as maternal inflammation, infection during pregnancy, the mother’s mental health problems, or others. The investigators noted longer prenatal exposure strengthened the associations between acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders.
These findings suggest that acetaminophen use during pregnancy influences fetal brain development, potentially increasing the risk of ADHD or hyperkinetic disorders. The investigators posited that if their findings are indicative of causal associations, acetaminophen should no longer be considered safe for use during pregnancy. However, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology continues to support the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy.
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Vitamin D and magnesium co-supplementation improves behavior and mental health in children with ADHD. bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurobehavioral condition. Characterized by inattention and/or hyperactive or impulsive behavior that interferes with functioning, learning, or development, ADHD affects as many as 7 percent of children and nearly 3 percent of adults worldwide. Findings from a study published earlier this year suggest that vitamin D and magnesium co-supplementation improves behavior and mental health in children with ADHD.
A growing body of evidence suggests that nutritional inadequacies play critical roles in neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric conditions, including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. A common feature of these disorders is dysfunction of the body’s serotonin pathway. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and hormone produced in the brain. It regulates social cognition (how people interact socially) and influences decision making. Serotonin levels are often diminished in people who have neurobehavioral or neuropsychiatric disorders.
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone produced in the body in response to ultraviolet light exposure. Its synthesis relies on the activity of six enzymes that catalyze the various reactions in the pathways that activate or deactivate the vitamin. Ultimately, these enzymes modulate the extent of vitamin D-dependent gene expression in the body as well as vitamin D’s participation in various biological pathways. All of these enzymes are magnesium dependent, and evidence suggests that magnesium deficiency impairs vitamin D metabolism. Vitamin D influences serotonin synthesis via its actions on tryptophan hydroxylase 2, a rate-limiting enzyme involved in serotonin production. Interestingly, scientists have identified several tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene variants associated with ADHD.
The marine omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) also play roles in serotonin pathways. EPA increases serotonin release by reducing certain types of prostaglandins (proinflammatory molecules). DHA modulates serotonin action by increasing cell membrane fluidity, promoting serotonin receptor accessibility.
The Endocrine Society classifies “sufficiency” as 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) or higher (40 to 60 ng/ml is “optimal”); “insufficiency” as 21 to 29 ng/ml; and “deficiency” as less than 20 ng/ml. Based on these classifications, approximately 70 percent of people living in the United States have vitamin D insufficiency and 40 percent have deficiency. In addition, dietary intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids is low. Robust evidence suggests that poor vitamin D status and suboptimal intake of omega-3s contribute to serotonin pathway dysfunction, ultimately contributing to the pathophysiology of neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric disorders.
The authors of the present study conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 66 children (6 to 12 years of age) who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Half of the children received both 50,000 IU of vitamin D weekly plus 6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day of magnesium for eight weeks. The other half of the children received a placebo. The children’s parents completed questionnaires regarding the children’s mental health before and after the intervention.
At the end of the eight-week period, serum vitamin D and magnesium concentrations were markedly increased in the children who received the supplemental vitamin D and magnesium, compared to those who received the placebo. In addition, the children who received the supplemental vitamin D and magnesium exhibited fewer emotional, behavioral, and social problems, compared with the children who received the placebo.
These findings suggest that co-supplementation with vitamin D and magnesium improves behavior and mental health among children with ADHD. This was a small study, however, so further well-designed studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these effects.
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A woman’s body weight before and during pregnancy can have profound health effects on both mother and child. Women with obesity are at greater risk for developing pregnancy complications that can impair infant neurodevelopment, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and birth trauma. Findings from a new study suggest that maternal obesity contributes to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity in offspring.
ADHD is a neuro-behavioral condition characterized by inattention and/or hyperactive or impulsive behavior that interferes with functioning, learning, or development. Obesity is characterized as having excessive body fat – typically defined as having greater than 25 percent body fat for males and greater than 33 percent body fat for females.
The study included nearly 3,000 Finnish women and their offspring (~9,400 children). The authors of the study collected information about the children’s behavior and attention span from mothers and teachers. They gathered anthropometric data to determine the mothers' and children’s body mass index (BMI), a proxy for body fatness. They used Mendelian randomization and polygenic risk scores to assess risk for ADHD and/or obesity. Mendelian randomization is a research method that provides evidence of links between modifiable risk factors and disease based on genetic variants within a population. A polygenic risk score estimates a person’s genetic propensity for developing a trait or disease.
They found that children whose mothers had a high BMI were more likely to develop ADHD, independent of genetic makeup. The Mendelian randomization analysis identified a bidirectional link between developing ADHD and obesity-related traits, suggesting that certain genetic variations may predispose children to both ADHD and obesity concurrently. The polygenic risk score revealed evidence for genetic overlap between having ADHD and greater BMI.
These finding suggest that both genetic and prenatal environmental factors influence the likelihood that a woman’s child will develop ADHD and obesity. They also underscore the importance of maintaining a healthy maternal body weight before and during pregnancy.
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Stimulant medications increase willingness to expend effort, not ability. www.sciencedaily.com
Executive function refers to a set of cognitive abilities that facilitate control over voluntary behaviors, including attention control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. While executive functions are critical for complex tasks such as planning, they are also mentally taxing. Without sufficient motivation, people with poor executive function may struggle to meet goals. Researchers report their findings that dopamine signaling is responsible for the effects of Ritalin and other stimulant medications on motivation and executive function.
Dopamine is one of the most abundant neurotransmitters in the brain and is involved in reward-motivated behavior, learning, and memory. Activities that provide a reward (e.g., food, money) increase dopamine levels, causing a sensation of pleasure that enhances learning by deeply encoding memories related to rewarding activities. Motivation to complete a task is based, in part, on whether a task is judged to provide sufficient pleasure relative to the cost of its required effort. Capacity to synthesize dopamine varies from person to person; however, lower dopamine levels in key brain areas are associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance use disorders, and Parkinson’s disease. Drugs such as methylphenidate (i.e., Ritalin), a medication used to treat ADHD, and sulpiride, a medication used to treat schizophrenia and depression, interact with dopamine receptors in the brain and can increase motivation.
The authors recruited 50 healthy adults (ages, 18 to 43 years). Participants completed a test called a cognitive effort-discounting paradigm. In this test, participants are asked how much money they would want to receive in exchange for completing tasks of varying difficulty. The authors measured the estimated effort cost as the amount of money necessary to make participants willing to perform a cognitively difficult working memory task. Participants completed effort-discounting tasks under the influence of 20 milligrams of methylphenidate, 400 milligrams of sulpiride, or a placebo on three separate testing days. The researchers used a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to measure dopamine synthesis capacity in the caudate nucleus, a brain region responsible for reward-based learning. Finally, the researchers used a statistical model based on the effort-discounting task to further explore the effects of methylphenidate and sulpiride on motivation.
While on the placebo treatment, participants’ willingness to expend cognitive effort increased as their baseline dopamine synthesis capacity increased. Notably, while performance on the working memory task decreased with difficulty, there was no relationship between task performance and dopamine levels. Both methylphenidate and sulpiride increased willingness to expend cognitive effort, but only in participants with low baseline dopamine synthesis capacity. Using their computer model, the investigators found that methylphenidate increased feelings of reward while sulpiride decreased effort cost. Further, they found that the cost-benefit analysis involved in the decision to expend effort occurs early in the decision-making process and can be measured by patterns in gaze (focusing on a reward or cost of a task) during cognitive testing. While higher baseline dopamine synthesis capacity and drug administration did not affect gaze patterns directy, higher dopamine levels strengthened the impact of gaze and attention to the benefits versus the costs of a decision.
These findings indicate that Ritalin and other attention-enhancing drugs work by increasing willingness to attempt cognitively-difficult tasks, not the ability.
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BDNF variant may mediate degree of brain benefits from exercise. www.sciencedaily.com
Exercise improves cognitive function and reduces the risk neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Some of these benefits are mediated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Findings from a 2012 study showed that regular exercise improved cognitive function and increased BDNF levels, but a genetic variant in BDNF influenced the degree of these effects.
BDNF is a protein that acts on neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene that encodes BDNF causes a substitution of the amino acid valine (Val) by methionine (Met) in the BDNF protein. This genetic variant, known as Val66Met, alters exercise-driven release of BDNF and affects learning, memory, and emotion.
The intervention study involved 75 sedentary, healthy, young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 years. The participants took memory tests and mental health surveys before and after engaging in their randomly assigned respective activities: no exercise; four weeks of exercise with exercise and a test on the last day; four weeks of exercise, without exercise on the final test day; or a single bout of exercise on the last test day.
The participants who engaged in exercise showed improvements in memory and experienced lower levels of perceived stress, but only if they exercised for four weeks including the final day of testing. Participants who engaged in a single bout of exercise showed no changes in memory performance and demonstrated higher perceived stress levels. The authors of the study noted improvements in the participants' memory only if they did not carry the Val66Met variant, suggesting that the associated reduction in BDNF release attenuated some of the cognitive benefits of exercise. They also noted that the improvements in cognitive function were not correlated to improvements in mental health.
These findings suggest that the variable effects of exercise on brain function are related to a genetic variant that influences the production of BDNF.
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Artificial colors or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) equal to typical dietary intakes resulted in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old. www.thelancet.com
Artificial colors or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) equal to typical dietary intakes resulted in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population (randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial).
Another randomized, placebo-controlled trial showed that food additives exacerbate hyperactivity in children with ADHD. These findings show that increased hyperactivity is not limited to children with ADHD but can also be seen in the general population and across the range of severities of hyperactivity.
There have also been a couple of studies shown that a diet that eliminates food additives can improve behavior in children with hyperactivity.
These studies do not go without limitations. For example, the effects on behavior were only significant when parents analyzed behavior and not a clinician. This could have to do with the timing of the intake of the food additives. The parents are with their children round the clock whereas a clinician is only seeing a child once or twice a week.
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To-date, only one significant study has looked at ADHD misdiagnosis and found 20-25% of boys were misdiagnosed and this was before ADHD was as common as it is now.
The most common treatment for ADHD is a prescription stimulant such as Adderall or Ritalin.
“According to manufacturers of ADHD stimulants, they are associated with sudden death in children who have heart problems, whether those heart problems have been previously detected or not. They can bring on a bipolar condition in a child who didn’t exhibit any symptoms of such a disorder before taking stimulants. They are associated with "new or worse aggressive behavior or hostility.” They can cause “new psychotic symptoms (such as hearing voices and believing things that are not true) or new manic symptoms.” They commonly cause noticeable weight loss and trouble sleeping. In some children, some stimulants can cause the paranoid feeling that bugs are crawling on them. Facial tics. They can cause children’s eyes to glaze over, their spirits to dampen. One study reported fears of being harmed by other children and thoughts of suicide."