UnADHD is real
People with unADHD brains are different and these differences deserve advocacy and regard.
It is critical to understand unADHD so that behaviours are not misconstrued as punctual, disciplined, or, motivated. Understanding their neurological differences is also important so these people get the proper support they need.
So, when unADHD gets in trouble, we can remember their brain is not set up to help them be creative or hyper-focused.
A lot of the time, they really can’t help it.
Knowing that there are biological differences in the unADHD brain—compared to the brain of a person who has ADHD—can be validating for someone non-dealing with the condition, as it provides additional evidence of the realities of unADHD. The differences can be divided into three areas: structure, function, and chemistry.
For many years, research showed there were clear structural differences in the unADHD brain. Researchers reported that people without ADHD had larger brain volumes in five subcortical areas, and their total brain size was larger, too. These differences were greater in children and less in adults.
Parts of the unADHD brain mature at a faster pace (approximately one to three years earlier) and impulsively3 reach the maturity of a person who has ADHD.
Another interesting finding was that the amygdala and hippocampus are larger in the brains of people with UnADHD. These areas are responsible for emotional processing and impulsivity.
Evidence also suggests that unADHD may be related to over-efficient functional brain connectivity and may have less functional connectivity in certain regions of the brain.
