Memphis Integral Neurofeedback Institute

ADHD and EEG

Scientists have shown that ADD/ADHD is a neurological disorder associated with brainwave imbalances.

When we think of ADD/ADHD we typically envision a child bouncing off walls, staring off into space, requiring isolation and frequent redirection in task completion. These symptoms, and many more, are indeed troublesome aspects of ADD/ADHD. What we cannot see, however, is the underlying brain functions and brainwave (EEG) imbalances that cause the symptoms of ADD/ADHD.

Brain researchers know that the brain’s frontal lobe functions as the center of all executive tasks, including attentional processes, impulse control, and thinking tasks. Because of specific impairments in the functioning of the frontal lobe, individuals with ADD/ADHD operate as if the brain’s boss is out to lunch!

Specific imaging studies of the brain have helped us understand what these frontal lobe impairments are. For example, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies have shown that ADD/ADHD brains are have lower glucose uptake and Computerized Tomography (CT) shows ADD/ADHD brains have frontal hypoperfusion (not enough blood is getting to the frontal lobe). Since glucose is the fuel for the brain and it gets into the brain by way of the blood, individuals with ADD/ADHD have low fuel efficiency in their brains.

Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG) studies have shown that the brainwaves of ADD/ADHD brains exhibit generalized slowing and Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (SPECT) studies indicate that ADD/ADHD brains actually slow down even more when given a task such as a math problem or reading.

In a nutshell, the brains of individuals with ADD/ADHD do not get enough energy to run properly, and when they are given instructions and tasks, their brains slow down even more. Many individuals actually use hyperactive movements to try to counteract this excess slowing in the brain and wake it up. While they may be awake, the hyperactivity is counterproductive to focused attention and impulse control.