As the number of children diagnosed with ADHD is rising, pediatricians do their best to find the reasons which make kids hyperactive. Most researchers name heredity as the main reason why the disorder emerge. Numerous studies confirmed that children diagnosed with ADHD almost always have a close relative with the same disorder. Currently, researchers try to find genes responsible for ADHD. They anticipate that children with the disorder have some segments of their DNA missing or duplicated.
Despite such a solid evidence that genetic factors cause ADHD, cultural environment also matters. Today children see their parents constantly rushing and get used to fast tempo of their life at home. Probably, living in a fussy environment makes it hard for children to concentrate in цthe classroom. Scientists claim that in the period of intense development, some brain cells constantly connect with the other brain cells while there are yet another cells which appear pushed back and uninvolved. This process determines the brain activity in the prefrontal cortex and affects human ability to concentrate. Which is more, TV and video games contribute to developing ADHD. Researchers made such a conclusion after they studied kids in Amish families which forbid such traditional everyday activity.
Other environmental factors which contribute to ADHD are exposure to certain chemicals such as pesticides, lead, food additives. Women’s lifestyle during the pregnancy is also crucial to the child’s mental health. Being exposed to alcohol and nicotine at the prenatal stage, a fetus may acquire certain mutations in genetic material. Therefore, in case if ADHD is diagnosed, many more factors than just poor genetics are to blame.