Is the maturity of brain networks related to communication issues for people with ADHD?

Why are some people at ease in social situations while others constantly feel they are misunderstood? Research has largely focused on what happens in the brain when we learn a new word, for example, but there have been few studies on how we learn to use words to make ourselves understood.

The researchers in this project are comparing brain activity in subjects in their early and late teens, with and without ADHD, while they play a kind of communication game in a brain camera. The project is premised on the fact that the brain’s reaction to explicit language, as compared with implicit communication, changes during adolescence.

Some situations require us to express ourselves clearly. If a person needs fresh air and is unable to move, they might say “can you open the window please?” In other situations, where we simply want someone else to open the window, we are more circumspect. We might say “Isn’t it a bit hot and stuffy in here?” People with communication problems don’t usually take the hint and prefer people to be more direct. We are investigating whether ADHD participants might belong to this group. 

One hypothesis the project will be examining is that the brain’s linguistic network needs to develop, not least during adolescence, in order to be able to communicate at adult level. This development may be delayed in young people with ADHD. Delayed development may cause them to experience difficulties in the social, rather than purely linguistic, aspects of communication.

So young people with ADHD may struggle to understand subtexts. They may also find it hard to understand irony and sarcasm or to stay on topic in a conversation.

There are a number of possible explanations why people with ADHD may experience these problems. A better understanding of the underlying reasons may be gained by studying the brain.

The researchers will therefore be ascertaining which of the brain’s networks are involved in communication at different stages of childhood and adolescence, and testing whether those networks mature more slowly in people with ADHD. 

There may be a problem in the brain’s communication network, or in other networks that we know are affected by ADHD, such as those responsible for good short-term memory, attention, impulse control and planning.

The researchers will be looking for markers for communication difficulties in the brain. This may make it easier to help people with ADHD, who could potentially be trained.

The research teams hopes that the project will yield knowledge that can be used to design social robots, for example, to provide the necessary training at the right point in time. They believe there is also a growing interest in these issues because young people these days communicate via their mobile phones and therefore get less training in face-to-face conversational skills.