Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a focused overview for children’s environmental health researchers
Open accessAbstract
Objectives: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequently diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorder. Much research has been done to identify genetic, environmental, and social risk factors for ADHD; however, we are still far from fully understanding its etiology. In this review we provide an overview of diagnostic criteria for ADHD and what is known about its biological basis. We also review the neuropsychological functions that are affected in ADHD. The goal is to familiarize the reader with the behavioral deficits that are hallmarks of ADHD and to facilitate comparisons with neurobehavioral deficits associated with environmental chemical exposures. Data sources: Relevant literature on ADHD is reviewed, focusing in particular on meta-analyses conducted between 2004 and the present that evaluated associations between measures of neuropsychological function and ADHD in children. Meta-analyses were obtained through searches of the PubMed electronic database using the terms “ADHD,” “meta-analysis,” “attention,” “executive,” and “neuropsychological functions.” Although meta-analyses are emphasized, nonquantitative reviews are included for particular neuropsychological functions where no meta-analyses were available. Data synthesis: The meta-analyses indicate that vigilance (sustained attention), response inhibition, and working memory are impaired in children diagnosed with ADHD. Similar but somewhat less consistent meta-analytic findings have been reported for impairments in alertness, cognitive flexibility, and planning. Additionally, the literature suggests deficits in temporal information processing and altered responses to reinforcement in children diagnosed with ADHD. Findings from brain imagining and neurochemistry studies support the behavioral findings. Conclusions: Behavioral, neuroanatomical, and neurochemical data indicate substantial differences in attention and executive functions between children diagnosed with ADHD and non-ADHD controls. Comparisons of the neurobehavioral deficits associated with ADHD and those associated with exposures to environmental chemicals may help to identify possible environmental risk factors for ADHD and/or reveal common underlying biological mechanisms.
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Direct evidence linking any specific EDC to a clearly defined clinical disorder involving the social brain is sparse, and no single chemical has yet been definitively implicated.
“Direct evidence linking any specific EDC to a clearly defined clinical disorder involving the social brain is sparse, and no single chemical has yet been definitively implicated (18, 21–25).”
From Endocrine Disruption of Vasopressin Systems and Related Behaviors (2017) · cites this paper as [24]
The Conclusion says ADHD’s etiology remains poorly understood and calls for further research on environmental chemical exposures, supporting the claim’s general caution about definitive links. It does not assess endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as a class or disorders involving the “social brain,” so it cannot support those specific parts of the claim. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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Research works printed but not linked: 48
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- Authors
- Aguiar, A., Eubig, P. A., & Schantz, S. L.
- Affiliations
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Corresponding author
- Aguiar, Andréa
- Venue
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2010-09-09
- Volume
- 118
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1646-1653
- ISSN
- 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-9924
- PMC
- PMC3002183
- OpenAlex
- W2149920199
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 1.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor, 2668 d)
- Locations
- Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R01TS000072)
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (K08ES017045, ES015687, R01ES015687)
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD etiology, neuropsychological deficits, executive function, sustained attention, response inhibition, working memory, environmental chemical exposure, environmental risk factors, children, neurochemistry, neuroimaging, temporal processing
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Brain, Child, Cognition, Environmental Health, Environmental Pollutants, Female, Humans, Male, Risk Factors, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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