The Reticular Activating System, and its Role in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

In our last article about the neurology of ADHD we began to introduce the reader to the system in the brain known as the Reticular Activating System. The Reticular Activating System is the "attention center" in the brain. It is the key to "turning on your brain," and seems to be the center of motivation.

The Reticular Activating System is connected at its base to the spinal cord where it receives information projected directly from the ascending sensory tracts. The brainstem reticular formation runs all the way up to the mid-brain. As a result, the Reticular Activating System is a very complex collection of neurons that serve as a point of convergence for signals from the external world and from interior environment.

In other words, it is the part of your brain where the world outside of you, and your thoughts and feelings from "inside" of you, meet.

This Reticular Activating System is very capable of generating dynamic effects on the activity of the cortex, including the frontal lobes, and the motor activity centers of the brain. It plays a significant role in determining whether a person can learn and remember things well or not, on whether or not a person is impulsive or self-controlled, on whether or not a person has high or low motor activity levels, and on whether or not a person is highly motivated or bored easily. The Reticular Activating System is the center of balance for the other systems involved in learning, self-control or inhibition, and motivation.

When functioning normally, it provides the neural connections that are needed for the processing and learning of information, and the ability to pay attention to the correct task. But if the Reticular Activating System doesn't excite the neurons of the cortex as much as it ought to, then we see the results of an under-aroused cortex, such as difficulty learning, poor memory, little self-control, and so on. In fact, if the Reticular Activating System failed to activate the cortex at all one would see a lack of consciousness or even coma.

What would happen if the Reticular Activating System was too excited, and aroused the cortex or other systems of the brain too much? Then we would see individuals with excessive startle responses, hyper-vigilance, touching everything, talking too much, restless, and hyperactive. So the Reticular Activating System must be activated to normal levels for the rest of the brain to function as it should.

What factors could cause the Reticular Activating System to be either over-activated or under-activated?

According to Harvard Medical School, current research strongly suggests that Attention Deficit Disorder is caused in part by a deficiency of Norepinephrine in the ascending reticular activating system, and it is thought that the stimulant medications, such as Ritalin, increase the levels of Norepinephrine in that part of the brain, as well as probably increasing dopamine levels in the frontal lobes. This treatment strategy works well for the inattentive under-aroused ADD kids, and somewhat well for the over-aroused impulsive-hyperactive ADHD kids.

However, for the kids who have an over-aroused Reticular Activating System to begin with, the use of stimulants will often exacerbate the problems with temper, sleep, and hyper-vigilance or anxiety. For these individuals their physicians will often prescribe a Norepinepherine antagonist such as Clonadine, or an antidepressant such as Prozac, which works to enhance the Serotonin driven inhibitory mechanisms of the brain.

However, it is not just activation levels of the Reticular Activating System that are a problem with Attention Deficit Disordered individuals.

It seems that the same problems that cause the Reticular Activating System to be under or over aroused also restricts the development of neural connections and the required neural density needed to process incoming information. In other words, these are issues with the number of brain cells, the size of the brain cells, and the number of connections between brain cells. It is not uncommon for one brain cell to have as many as 5,000 connections with other brain cells.

Picture the incoming information to be processed and learned as the volume of water coming out of your shower head. And picture the brain's ability to process this information as the drain and the drain pipe in the shower floor. If the pipe is clogged up, your shower will have problems draining. If the contractor originally installed a drain pipe that is too small, again your shower will have problems draining. In either case, you will either have to reduce the amount of water coming out of the shower head, or you will have to let the shower back up and wait a while for the water to finally drain out. Here's the connection?

If the brain does not have enough neural connections, or lacks the neural density, to process the incoming information, then it will be like a pipe that is too small to handle a large volume of water. It will take in some, but the rest will be stopped and won't go down the pipe rapidly. Learning will take place, but the time that it takes to process the information will be slowed significantly.

The impact of this with an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder child is best seen when the child is given a timed test, even with material that the child understands pretty well.

The "timed" aspect of the test requires that the child have a "larger drain pipe," as it were, to quickly process the problems on the test and recall the answer. However, with Attention Deficit Disorder - ADHD - the "pipe" is often too small, and the results of the timed test will probably be very poor. However, take away the timed element on the same test, and "allow the water to drain a the slower rate," and the child will often do well on the test.

So the ADHD child, or adult, needs to develop a greater degree of neural density, and a larger number of neural connections to process information faster and more efficiently.

Now, please do not think that this information to be processed is only what takes place in the classroom. The information to be processed includes information from the outside world, including the touch of the clothes on his skin, the buzz of the lights overhead, the sound of the kids playing outside, and the new information that the teacher is lecturing on at the front of the classroom. It also includes the information from inside the head, the thoughts and feelings of the ADHD person.

All of that must be sorted out and filtered, so that only the important information is paid attention to, and the unimportant information is ignored. Without proper filtering by the Reticular Activating System, the individual will be distracted by "noise," both from outside of him as well as from inside of him. You can learn more about the neurlogy of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by reading through the ADHD Information Library.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

---

Am I Really A Stroller-Monger?

I was reading "A Modern Infant Armada", a humor column in Maclean's Magazine written by a fellow humor columnist. Writing about it now is a bit like... Read More

Be Serious With Your Child Future

As a parent your biggest responsibility is to prepare your child for the future , physically emotionally and mentally.The first big Intellectual Challenge your child will face... Read More

Teacher Tips: Your Room Set-Up and ADHD Students

Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children! We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children, so here... Read More

Summer Camp Care Packages

Every summer our daughter goes to summer camp. She looks forward to it every year. I can't believe next summer will be her last opportunity to go... Read More

Drinking and Driving: Will Your Child Become a Statistic?

Just two days ago, another 15-year old child was added to the overwhelming statistics of drunk-driving, related deaths. One minute, he's full of vitality and attending our... Read More

Don?t Make Fast and Furious Food Changes

OK, moms and dads out there, we hear you when you say, my children won't eat healthy foods. If we even say the word, they tune out... Read More

Diet Sodas And How They Can Affect Kids

Many of us have grown up drinking caffeinated diet sodas as an alternative to sugary regular sodas. We figure this is a better choice rather than loading... Read More

Teaching Children Good Manners

Last week in my newsletter, I mentioned that my children knew how to behave in nice restaurants because they had been exposed to the atmosphere... Read More

Parenting Your Teenager: 7 Tips for Back to School Success

Blink. That's all we did, blink, and summer is ending and a new school year is beginning.Parents have mixed emotions. Relief that the kids are going back... Read More

In Defense of the Jelly Bean

Should a parent give a child a tangible reward when he or she has behaved properly or performed some important task such as doing homework, or helping... Read More

A Quiz for Parents: What Are They REALLY Learning?

Picture this. Your child comes home with a special assignment from school. He's very excited about it and puts in a lot of time to perfect it.... Read More

Build Character Now! Practical Tools for Busy Parents

"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." -Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. PresidentTeddy Roosevelt hit the mark with his... Read More

Paediatric Osteopathy

All babies cry, but if yours cries a lot, isn't sleeping or is just plain irritable, many parents have found that a paediatric osteopath can help, particularly... Read More

How To Teach Children Loyalty and Dependability

Individualism is a common thing in today's modern society. Many people care more about themselves than others and do what they like with little consideration for people... Read More

Loving Your Step-Children

Loving your step-child can be both simple and hard. It is not enough for parents, step parents and extended family to feel a deep glow of love... Read More

My Stomach Hurts - I Cant Go to School Today!

It's the third time this week that Sam has complained of a headache or Shaundra has an upset stomach. Daniel cries before leaving school and Tanya won't... Read More

Eating Disorders in Children

If I had a dollar for every time I persuaded a girl of 8 or 9 that they were not, in fact, fat, I'd be considerably richer.... Read More

A Dangerous Environment

The internet is a dangerous place for your children. Don't even begin to believe that your child is safe. There are more dangers than you can possibly... Read More

Unschooling - the Benefits of Home Based Education

Home schooling benefits children. As a parent, I feel it is important to provide the best opportunities available to my children. Through a process of home educating... Read More

5 Tips For Talking To Your Children About What They See In The News

Mommy (Daddy), Why do those people want to hurt everyone?Last week, the world was shaken by another terrorist attack. Hot on the heels of the Live 8... Read More

Words of Wisdom for Single Parents

The cost of being a parent and raising a child in todays world is constantly increasing. The risk of your child becoming involved in problem behaviour is... Read More

Responding to Criticism Without Being Defensive

In an actual war, to be attacked means to have our survival threatened. Thus, we might chose between surrender, withdrawal, or counterattack. When we feel attacked (criticized... Read More

How to Cope With Colic

When my oldest daughter was born, I walked the floor night and day, rocking and swaddling, singing and even crying...anything to make my new little miracle stop... Read More

Small Children, Languages and Myths

Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part of Canada ? Québec. "That's fine", says everyone. "Even though they'll probably start speaking later because they're... Read More

Speaking on Behalf of Our Children: Stop Blaming the Victims

How many times have you flipped through the pages of a magazine or newspaper and seen images of children with captions like "Brats," "Bullies," or "Mean and... Read More

Normal and Logical Consequences

Successful parents have learned to be both firm and kind at the same time. They set boundaries and work with their children to help them understand that... Read More