Well Done Son

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a surprisingly poorly understood disorder considering its high prevalence. For many people, ADHD is an overused label conjured up by poor parents to explain their child's poor behaviour. Yet, ADHD is a common disorder with a strong genetic basis and seriously detrimental consequences in adults. Leaving treatment to one side, the most pressing and practical question concerning ADHD in children is how do we keep them focused in school?

A recent study on 182 4- year olds in Holland has found a surprisingly simple answer: tell them they are doing well. The study found that all children performed better in a learning task when receiving positive feedback, including children with ADHD, who performed even better than healthy children in some cases.

Why is this? Positive feedback triggers the release of the neurotransmitter Dopamine in the brain. The study used children with mutations to the Dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene, which is known to be a mutation present in ADHD. The DRD4 mutation affects the structure of Dopamine receptors and therefore its transmission in the brain. It seems likely that this makes ADHD affected children more sensitive to positive feedback, hence their improved performance in the study.

So maybe a few extra 'well done's are in order. Science can be so simple.

Further reading:

New Scientist article:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028155.000-positive-feedback-gives-kids-with-adhd-a-head-start.html

Original paper:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2011.01112.x/abstract