Neurological Basis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Since the turn of the century, researchers have believed that attention deficit disorder (ADD) involves brain dysfunction. Many theories have been researched in an attempt to resolve the nature of brain dysfunction that has resulted in behaviors associated with ADD. In the past two decades, with an expansion of research technology, significant changes have occurred in the conceptualization of ADD—with or without hyperactivity—as well as in the neurological models relating to the etiology of this disorder. This article reviews these models and presents neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological perspectives on ADD.