ADHD Brains Have Broken Reward Systems
June 27th, 2010Patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, participated in a pioneering study led by Nora Volkow, the Director at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and collaborator at Brookhaven National Laboratory. For the first time, evidence showed lower levels of dopamine in the areas of the brain involved with motivation and reward.
A PET scan, also known as positron emission tomography, was utilized to measure dopamine levels of two specific markers – receptors and transporters – in each of the 97 participants. The study was broken into two groups: 44 healthy adults and 53 adult ADHD sufferers who had not undergone any previous treatment.
Dopamine receptors are important in the propagation of the reward signal, while dopamine transporters are responsible for the uptake and recycling of dopamine excess after the reward signal was sent.
While lying in a PET scanner, participants were injected with radiotracer, a radioactive compound designed to bind to a specific target. Multiple radiotracers were employed to account for the range of targets that were measured. The researchers used the data to determine the location and concentration of the dopamine receptors and transporters.
The findings from the study clearly emphasized that ADHD patients have lower amounts of dopamine receptors and dopamine transporters in some areas of the brain, particularly in the midbrain and the accumbens, which are responsible for reward and motivation processes. The researchers also found that the measurements of the markers correlated with the symptoms of ADHD, like inattention.
According to Volkow, the data suggested that deficiencies in the dopamine pathway result in a patient’s lowered attention and focus level and that it could underlie ADHD patients’
reactions to reward and motivation. She further noted the study showed that the use of stimulants to enhance levels of dopamine in the brain could enhance the patient’s attention level during mental tasks.
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