CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN
COGNITION & NEUROSCIENCES/ConnexConnex

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a very common neurodevelopmental disorder in children and adolescents, which often persists into adulthood, and is marked by developmentally inappropriate and pervasive expressions of inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsiveness. It is associated with functional impairments across multiple academic and social domains. For a long time it was believed that a lack of inhibitory control was the core cognitive deficit of ADHD. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that symptom expression and performance of individuals with ADHD is highly context-dependent, stressing the dynamic rather than fixed nature of ADHD. The state regulation account explains this in terms of failure to properly regulate energetic state when challenged to do so in sub-optimal conditions. In my talk, I will present recent behavioural, EEG, and fMRI data from our lab that are supportive of the state regulation account of ADHD, and will discuss its theoretical and clinical implications, as well as future challenges.