The new work exploited a powerful data source to show that the previously reported delayed maturation is likely a mirage in the data, caused by differences in how boys’ and girls’ brains develop. When these different patterns are taken into account, there’s no difference between ADHD and non-ADHD brain maturation, the study authors wrote.
Dr. Albaugh is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Larner College of Medicine. The new study was published May 18 in the journal PNAS.
At the time, this finding made perfect sense, Albaugh explains, because it matched well with ADHD behaviors. “You see kids that maybe are acting a little younger than their chronological age,” he told Live Science.
Albaugh was quick to emphasize that the new findings don’t change the underlying knowledge that ADHD is a biological condition that has a strong genetic component. But it does leave the field lacking reliable biological signatures for the condition.
This topic was also covered by Inside Precision Medicine and MSN.