A study published by JNeurosci reports on Mar. 16 that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience more sleep-like brain activity while awake, which is linked to increased lapses in attention during tasks. The research was led by Elaine Pinggal from Monash University and her colleagues.
The findings are significant because they may help explain why individuals with ADHD often struggle to maintain consistent attention and performance. Understanding the underlying brain mechanisms could inform future interventions or treatments for attention difficulties associated with ADHD.
The researchers compared 32 adults with ADHD who had withdrawn from medication to 31 neurotypical adults as both groups performed a task requiring sustained attention. The group with ADHD showed higher levels of sleep-like brain activity, which correlated with more frequent lapses in attention, slower reaction times, task errors, and increased sleepiness.
"Sleep-like brain activity is a normal phenomenon that happens during demanding tasks. Think of going for a long run and getting tired after a while, which makes you pause to take a break. Everyone experiences these brief moments of sleep-like activity. In people with ADHD, however, this activity occurs more frequently, and our research suggests this increased sleep-like activity may be a key brain mechanism that helps explain why these individuals have more difficulty maintaining consistent attention and performance during tasks," Pinggal said.
In typical populations, auditory stimulation during sleep has been shown to boost slow waves in the brain, potentially reducing sleep-like brain activity the next day while awake. Pinggal said that future research could explore whether similar approaches might help reduce such activity during wakefulness in people with ADHD.
