Pathophysiology of NSS in ADHD

World J Biol Psychiatry. 2009;10(4 Pt 2):495-502. doi: 10.1080/15622970902789148.

Abstract

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the behavioural disorder most commonly diagnosed in childhood. In addition to the main symptoms of inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity, neurological soft signs (NSS) are often associated with ADHD. NSS are discrete motor and sensory disorders that cannot be linked to specific cerebral lesions. We review all the scientific contributions on NSS in ADHD. The conclusions support the presence of an alteration in the neural networks for motor control inhibition, at the base of the pathophysiology of NSS in children with ADHD, as well as a possible central role of dopamine in these neural circuits.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / diagnosis
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / drug therapy
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / physiopathology*
  • Brain Damage, Chronic / diagnosis
  • Brain Damage, Chronic / drug therapy
  • Brain Damage, Chronic / physiopathology*
  • Central Nervous System Stimulants / therapeutic use
  • Cerebellum / drug effects
  • Cerebellum / physiopathology
  • Cerebral Cortex / drug effects
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology
  • Child
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dopamine / physiology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Methylphenidate / therapeutic use
  • Mice
  • Motor Neurons / drug effects
  • Motor Neurons / physiology
  • Nerve Net / drug effects
  • Nerve Net / physiopathology
  • Neural Inhibition / drug effects
  • Neural Inhibition / physiology
  • Neurologic Examination* / drug effects
  • Rats

Substances

  • Central Nervous System Stimulants
  • Methylphenidate
  • Dopamine