Redo of paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Redo of paper - Essay Example t contributes to ADHD; infection, trauma, complications during pregnancy or at the time of delivery or other injuries to the brain are included herein. Several studies show that brain damage is associated with greater attention deficits and hyperactivity (Cruickshank, Eliason, & Merrifield, 1988; ODougherty, Nuechterlein, & Drew, 1984). Moreover, ADHD symptoms occur more often in children with seizure disorders (Hesdorffer et al, 2004, Holdsworth & Whimore, 1974). Such injuries are, however, unlikely to be the cause of ADHD in most of the cases as most cases of child ADHD have no history of brain injuries of this sort. (Rutter, 1983). Re ­search also shows that not only do the siblings of children with ADHD who also have ADHD show executive function (i.e. cognitive control) deficits, even those siblings who do not actually mani ­fest ADHD appear to have impairments in the same functions, albeit milder. (Seidman, Biederman, Faraone, Weber, & Ouellette, 1997). Based on the responses of children with ADHD to dopamine and norepinephrine, it is suggested that such children may also have neurotransmitter dysfunctions and/or imbalances. Even though research shows that non-disabled children show a positive, though lesser, response to stimulants (Rapoport et al., 1978), evidence from drug responding by itself cannot be used to support a neurochemical abnormality in ADHD. However, some di ­rect evidence from studies of cerebral spinal fluid indicates decreased brain dopamine in children with ADHD compared to nondisabled children (Halperin et al., 1997; Raskin, Shaywitz, Shaywitz, Anderson, & Cohen, 1984). However, these findings are not conclusive. Although direct evidence for neurotransmit ­ter difficulties being associated with ADHD in children has proven inconclusive, results from animal research and that on typical humans suggests that they may be involved in ADHD. According to research, be ­tween 10% to 35% of the immediate family members of children with ADHD are