News release

From: Society for Neuroscience

Differences in brain activity between ADHD and neurotypical adults

Comparing sleep-like brain activity in adults with ADHD compared to neurotypical adults advances understanding of the brain mechanisms that contribute to attention lapses during tasks.

Elaine Pinggal, from Monash University, and colleagues assessed how sleep-like brain activity in awake adults influences sustained attention during a task.

The researchers compared sleep-like brain activity from 32 medication-withdrawn adults with ADHD to 31 neurotypical adults as participants performed a task requiring sustained attention. The ADHD group had more sleep-like brain activity, which was associated with more lapses in attention. Further analyses revealed that this activity may drive the relationship between ADHD and attention problems, including task errors, slower reaction times, and sleepiness.

Says Pinggal, “Sleep-like brain activity is a normal phenomenon that happens during demanding tasks. Think of going for a long run and getting tired after a while, which makes you pause to take a break. Everyone experiences these brief moments of sleep-like activity. In people with ADHD, however, this activity occurs more frequently, and our research suggests this increased sleep-like activity may be a key brain mechanism that helps explain why these individuals have more difficulty maintaining consistent attention and performance during tasks.”

In neurotypical populations, auditory stimulation during sleep can boost slow waves, which in turn could reduce sleep-like brain activity the following day while awake. Pinggal says a potential next step could be exploring whether this approach similarly diminishes sleep-like activity during wakefulness in those with ADHD.