Abstract
For decades, ADHD has been seen primarily as a behavior disorder affecting only young children, primarily boys, causing them to be inattentive and disruptive in school. Research has now established that ADHD affects females as well as males, and that impairing symptoms, for most, persist into adulthood. It has also been shown that this disorder impacts many aspects of life that extend well beyond problems in school. This disorder impairs not only one’s ability to sit still and listen, but also the capacity to organize tasks and materials, to sustain effort on tasks, and to utilize short-term memory for daily activities.
Studies of children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD indicate that many suffer from a variety of cognitive impairments that extend beyond symptoms listed in the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD. These include chronic problems in regulating alertness, in reading comprehension, and in modulating emotions, that occur more frequently in persons with ADHD than in the general population. This article describes recent research findings demonstrating the wide range of cognitive impairments associated with ADHD, which are related to a new model of ADHD, such as developmental impairment of executive functions of the brain.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach TM, Howell CT, McConaughy SH et al. (1995) Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample: III: transition to young adult syndromes. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 34:658–669
American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC
American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn, Revised. American Psychiatric Association,Washington,DC
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn, Revised. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC
Applegate B, Lahey BB, Hart EL et al. (1997) Validity of the age-of-onset criterion for ADHD: a report from the DSM-IV field trials. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:1211–1221
Baddeley A (1986) Working memory. Oxford University Press, New York
Barkley RA (1997) ADHD and the nature of self-control. Guilford, New York
Barkley RA, Biederman J (1997) Toward a broader definition of the age-of-onset criterion for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:1204–1210
Biederman J, Faraone SV, Taylor A et al. (1998) Diagnostic continuity between child and adolescent ADHD: findings from a longitudinal clinical sample. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 37:305–313
Brown TE (1995) Differential diagnosis of ADD vs ADHD in adults. In: Nadeau KG (ed) A comprehensive guide to attention deficit disorder in adults. Brunner/Mazel, New York, pp 93–108
Brown TE (1996) Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scales. Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX
Cohen RA (1993) The neuropsychology of attention. Plenum, New York
Conners CK (1997) Is ADHD a disease? J Atten Disord 2:3–17
Denckla MB (1996a) Research on executive function in a neurodevelopmental context: application of clinical measures. Dev Neuropsychol 12:5–15
Denckla MB (1996b) A theory and model of executive function, in attention,memory, and executive function. In: Lyon GR, Krasnegor NA (eds) Attention, memory and executive function. Brookes, Baltimore,MD, pp 263–278
Douglas VI (1988) Cognitive deficits in children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. In: Bloomingdale LM, Sergeant J (eds) Attention deficit disorder: Criteria, cognition, intervention. Pergamon, New York, pp 65–81
Faraone SV, Biederman J, Weber W et al. (1998) Psychiatric, neuropsychological, and psychosocial features of DSM-IV subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: results from a clinical referred sample. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 37:185–193
Gaub M, Carlson CL (1997) Gender differences in ADHD:a metaanalysis and critical review. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:1036–1045
Goldman LS, Genel M, Bezman R et al. (1998) Diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. JAMA 279:1100–1107
Goldman-Rakic PS (1995) Architecture of the prefrontal cortex and the central executive. Ann N Y Acad Sci 769:71–83
Hart EL, Lahey BB, Loeber R et al. (1995) Developmental change in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in boys: a four-year longitudinal study. J Abnorm Child Psychol 23:729–749
Jensen PS (1998) Scales vs categories? Never play against a stacked deck. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 37:185–193
Kagan J (1994) Galen’s Prophecy: Temperament in human nature. Basic Books, New York
Kosslyn SM, Koenig O (1995) Wet mind: The new cognitive neuroscience. Free Press, New York
Lahey BB, Carlson CL (1991) Validity of the diagnostic category of attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity: a review of the literature. J Learn Disabil 24:110–120
Lahey BB, Applegate B, McBurnett K et al. (1994): DSM-IV field trials for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Am J Psychiatry 151:1673–1685
Levy F, Hay DA, McStephen M et al. (1997) Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a category or a continuum? Genetic analysis of a large-scale twin study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:734–744
Lyon GR, Krasnegor NA (eds) (1996) Attention,memory, and executive function. Brookes, Baltimore, MD
Pennington BF, Ozonoff S (1996) Executive functions and development psychopathology. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 37:51–87
Pennington BF, Bennetto L, McAleer O et al. (1996) Executive functions and working memory. In: Lyon GR, Krasnegor NA (eds) Attention, memory, and executive function. Brookes, Baltimore, MD, pp 327–348
Richardson JTE (1996) Evolving issues in working memory. In: Richardson JTE, Engle RW, Hasher L et al. (eds) Working memory and human cognition. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 120–154
Richardson JTE, Engle RW, Hasher L et al. (eds) Working memory and human cognition.Oxford University Press, New York
Tannock R, Schachar R (1996) Executive dysfunction as an underlying mechanism of behaviour and language problems in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In: Beitchman JH, Cohen NJ; Konstantareas MM et al. (eds) Language, learning, and behavior disorders. Cambrigde University Press, New York, pp 128–155
Taylor E (1995) Dysfunctions of attention. In: Cicchetti D,Cohen DJ (eds) Development psychopathology, vol II. Wiley, New York, pp 243–273
Taylor GJ, Bagby RM, Parker JDA (1997) Disorders of affect regulation: Alexithymia in m
edical and psychiatric illness. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kordon, A., Kahl, K.G. & Wahl, K. A new understanding of attention-deficit disorders—Beyond the age-at-onset criterion of DSM-IV. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 256 (Suppl 1), i47–i54 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-1007-1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-1007-1