Education news

People with ADHD may have smaller brain volume #adhd

Did you know people with ADHD have smaller brain volume? Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be continued into adulthood. Children with ADHD sometimes can’t control their impulses.

adhd-chalk-board

In a recent study published in the medical journal, The Lancet Psychiatry, researchers compared brain scans of people living with Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and those without the disorder. Their findings concluded that people with ADHD have a smaller brain volume than those who do not have the disorder, with difference most obvious in children living with ADHD.

Share the idea

According to recent research, children with ADHD have less brain volume than children without ADHD.

Those with ADHD have a different brain volume.

Dr. Martine Hoogman, the study’s head researcher, said that the findings even showed that children can actually eventually outgrow ADHD. However, many adults still have the disorder. The difference in brain volume was so minute that it might not have even been noticed had the pool of participants not been so large.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects children and teens and can continue into adulthood. ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder of children. Children with ADHD may be hyperactive and unable control their impulses.

Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert

Key takeaways

  1. A new study states that people with ADHD have smaller brain volume than those who don’t have it.
  2. During the study, researchers took MRI scans of each partaker’s complete brain volume plus the volume of the seven brain regions believed to be associated with ADHD.
  3. Similar results were seen on studies on schizophrenia, depression, OCD, and Bipolar.
Focus Foundations Free resources for attention, focus and follow-through, built for parents. Explore Focus Foundations

Is your child struggling in school?

Get your free personalized learning roadmap

You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.

  • Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
  • Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
  • You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
  • Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly

Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.

Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.

Get my free assessment & 7-day trial Cancel anytime during your trial.

Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.

A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.

· Learning Success expert Writes about the learning brain for parents who want plain answers. Every article is grounded in current neuroscience and classroom practice.