ADHD as a Model of Brain-Behavior Relationships
Leonard F. Koziol, Deborah Ely Budding, and Dana Chidekel
Series Title: Springer Briefs in Neuroscience
Subseries: The Vertically Organized Brain in Theory and Practice
It's been a basic neurological given: the brain does our thinking, and
has evolved to do the thinking, as controlled by the neocortex. In this
schema, all dysfunction can be traced to problems in the brain's lateral
interactions. But in scientific reality, is this really true?
Challenging this traditional cortico-centric view is a body of research
emphasizing the role of the structures that control movement-the brain's
vertical organization-in behavioral symptoms.
Using a well-known, widely studied disorder as a test case, ADHD as a
Model of Brain-Behavior Relationships offers an innovative framework
for integrating neuroscience and behavioral research to refine
diagnostic process and advance the understanding of disorders.
Identifying a profound disconnect between current neuropsychological
testing and the way the brain actually functions, this revision of the
paradigm critiques the DSM and ICD in terms of the connectedness of
brain structures regarding cognition and behavior. The authors argue for
a large-scale brain network approach to pathology instead of the
localizing that is so common historically, and for an alternate set of
diagnostic criteria proposed by the NIMH. Included in the coverage:
- The diagnosis of ADHD: history and context.
- ADHD and neuropsychological nomenclature
- Research Domain Criteria: a dimensional approach to evaluating
disorder
- The development of motor skills, executive function, and a relation to
ADHD
- The role of the cerebellum in cognition, emotion, motivation, and
dysfunction
- How large-scale brain networks interact
Heralding a more accurate future of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment
of neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD as a Model of Brain-Behavior
Relationships represents a major step forward for neuropsychologists,
child psychologists, and psychiatrists, or any related profession
interested in a neuroscientific understanding of brain function.
