ADHD Linked to Structural Differences in the Brain

Imaging data show smaller volumes in several brain regions among people diagnosed with the behavioral disorder.

Written byKerry Grens

| 2 min read

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Update (May 9): The Lancet Psychiatry has published several letters criticizing the study, along with a response from the authors and several corrections.

One letter, written by an independent group of researchers, described a reanalysis of the data controlling for IQ that “found no significant difference between individuals with ADHD and those in the control group.”

Hoogman and colleagues responded that IQ covariation “is the subject of intense discussions in ADHD research, and previous work advises against correcting for IQ. Because a slightly lower IQ can be a feature of ADHD, adjusting for IQ will remove disorder effects in brain regions associated with both ADHD and IQ.”

Update (April 26): A group called Mad in America has gathered more than 800 signatures on a petition ...

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Meet the Author

Kerry Grens
Kerry served as The Scientist’s news director until 2021. Before joining The Scientist in 2013, she was a stringer for Reuters Health, the senior health and science reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, and the health and science reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. Kerry got her start in journalism as a AAAS Mass Media fellow at KUNC in Colorado. She has a master’s in biological sciences from Stanford University and a biology degree from Loyola University Chicago.
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