Faulty Brainwave Bursts Linked to ADHD Memory Lapses
Source PublicationCognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
Primary AuthorsKavanaugh, Vigne, Gamble et al.
Scientists are searching for precise biological markers to guide psychiatric treatments, and a new study reveals a potential candidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The research focused on the brain’s electrical rhythms during working memory tasks.
Our ability to hold information, known as working memory, relies on a delicate dance between different brainwaves in the frontoparietal regions. Normally, bursts of high-frequency activity (HFA) increase when we encode new information, while lower-frequency alpha and beta bursts take over to maintain it. Using EEG and MRI scans on 27 adolescents with ADHD, researchers found that deviations from this rhythmic pattern were directly associated with memory errors and symptom fluctuations.
This discovery of dysfunctional burst dynamics offers a novel biomarker, providing a promising new target for developing more precise, brain-targeted therapies for working memory deficits in ADHD.