Need-to-know anatomy

While the causes of ADHD are not well understood, experts believe that there is a biological explanation for the condition. Brain-scan studies at the National Institute of Mental Health have noted that the volume of matter in several key parts of the brain are 3 to 4 percent smaller in children with ADHD than in other children. These key areas include the frontal lobes of the cerebrum, which are responsible for problem solving, planning, and impulse control; the cerebellum, which regulates motor coordination; and the caudate nucleus, a structure in the basal ganglia that organizes information sent to the frontal lobes from other areas of the brain.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control Find a therapist More online resources about ADHD ADHD-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

The researchers also found that the volume of white matter (the fibers that connect and transmit electrical signals between the regions of the brain) in study subjects who had been treated with medication equaled that of the control group, while those who had never been medicated had an unusually small volume of white matter. Brain scans are useful for research, but they cannot be used to reliably diagnose the disorder.