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A correlation has been found between common childhood syndromes
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Scientists have discovered a connection between emotional disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The discovery was shared by researchers from Karolinska University. The project was led by Dr. Predrag Petrovic.
Researchers have begun studying the syndrome of DV with hyperactivity, a disease characterized by increased activity, impulsivity, and lack of attention. This disorder manifests itself in early childhood, and individual signs of the disease have an impact years later, already on an adult. This syndrome is problematic both for the child and for his environment. Often, insurmountable obstacles arise in upbringing, in studies, and then in work. Social and emotional adaptation is disrupted.
Clinical experts have been observing for many years that children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder demonstrate signs that are not typical for this pathology. For example, we can talk about spontaneous and unstable emotional manifestations, anxiety and depressive disorders. However, specialists have not yet seen a connection between this syndrome and a breakdown in emotional balance. Although some time ago, scientists already suggested that these pathologies could be caused by disturbances in the control of information processing in the brain.
A new scientific study has confirmed this assumption. Using the tomography method, researchers were able to track the appearance of symptoms of attention deficit syndrome and changes in the behavior of adolescents. Scientists conducted several consecutive tests and behavioral tests with the participation of volunteers: people participating in the experiment had a diagnosis of some emotional disorders or pathologies. Specialists found that all selected volunteers showed a reduction in brain volume in the frontal lobe and nearby areas. These discrepancies did not generally have a pronounced effect on the performance of the brain. However, this fact made it possible to explain why patients with attention deficit syndrome develop depressive and anxious states more often than others.
As the head of the study explains, the results of the work are of particular importance for the treatment of emotional instability. This is an opportunity to prove that anxiety and constant mood swings, which are not related to the diagnosis of attention deficit syndrome, have completely explainable biologically justified causes: it is possible and even necessary to treat such disorders. In addition, if we delve into these processes, it is possible to improve the complex diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Details of the scientists’ discovery are presented on the university’s website (https://ki.se/en/news/similar-changes-in-the-brains-of-patients-with-adhd-and-emotional-instability).