ADHD and Dementia

The dopaminergic pathway is responsible for the regulation and execution of the body's reward system. The reward system is composed of multiple structures, like the amygdala, hippocampus, and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Dopamine, the topic of this blog post, is the main neurotransmitter at the heart of reward and pleasure (Guy-Evans, 2021). When the body experiences low levels of dopamine, there are increased risks for many health issues. One of the most common diseases in the United States is Alzheimer’s. The investigation into the causation of the neurodegenerative disease is one sought after by many health professionals. As discussed in class and through a meta-analysis, the link of dopamine concentration and the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s is present (Pan et. al., 2019). The brain may not be able to function with decreased dopamine, leading to the degeneration of important parts of the brian (Murley, 2018). When parts of the brain experience atrophy, the results in behavioral and motor abilities also decline, which result in the extreme symptoms associated with dementia. 

This made me think about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a disruption to the intercellular reaction to dopamine triggered reactions and behaviors. Individuals who have ADHD are likely to participate or seek activities which increase dopamine. On the physiological level, the brain in an individual with ADHD doesn’t contain enough receptor sites to maintain adequate levels of dopamine (Oscar Berman, 2008). This interestingly made me think about ADHD individuals and if they were more likely to develop diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s. However, I didn’t know that an individual with ADHD was considered a premorbidity. This would make sense as the diagnosis of dementia or any other neurodegenerative disease, however many articles are suggesting that there must be assessment tools for individuals who have ADHD when trying to diagnose diseases such as dementia.

Guy-Evans, O. (2021, June 9). Brain reward system. Brain Reward System - Simply Psychology.                        Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/brain-reward-system.html

Murley, A. G., & Rowe, J. B. (2018). Neurotransmitter deficits from frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Brain, 141(5), 1263–1285. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awx327

Oscar Berman, M., Blum, K., Chen, T. J. H., Braverman, E., Waite, R., Downs, W., Arcuri, V., Notaro, A., Palomo, T., & Comings. (2008). Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and reward deficiency syndrome. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 893. https://doi.org/10.2147/ndt.s2627

Pan, X., Kaminga, A. C., Wen, S. W., Wu, X., Acheampong, K., & Liu, A. (2019). Dopamine and dopamine receptors in alzheimer's disease: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00175