CAA CAA ADHD Neuroscience and Brain-Based Understanding 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'interest-based nervous system' model by Dr. William Dodson states ADHD brains are activated by tasks that are:
- Assigned by authority figures
- Easy and repetitive
- Novel, urgent, challenging, or personally interesting (Correct answer)
- Low-stakes and familiar
Correct answer: Novel, urgent, challenging, or personally interesting
Dodson's model explains that ADHD brains require novelty, urgency, challenge, or passion for activation rather than responding to importance alone.
Question 2: Norepinephrine's role in ADHD primarily affects which function?
- Sleep cycles
- Alertness and attention regulation (Correct answer)
- Long-term memory formation
- Appetite control
Correct answer: Alertness and attention regulation
Norepinephrine works alongside dopamine to regulate alertness and attentional control in the prefrontal cortex.
Question 3: The default mode network (DMN) in ADHD brains is problematic because it:
- Deactivates too efficiently during tasks
- Remains active during task performance instead of suppressing (Correct answer)
- Shows complete disconnection
- Functions identically to neurotypical brains
Correct answer: Remains active during task performance instead of suppressing
Research shows the DMN fails to suppress adequately during tasks in ADHD brains, competing with task-focused networks and causing mind-wandering.
Question 4: Emotional dysregulation in ADHD is neurologically linked to impaired connectivity between which two regions?
- Hippocampus and temporal lobe
- Prefrontal cortex and amygdala (Correct answer)
- Cerebellum and motor cortex
- Thalamus and basal ganglia
Correct answer: Prefrontal cortex and amygdala
Impaired top-down regulation from the prefrontal cortex over the amygdala results in the intense emotional reactions characteristic of ADHD.
Question 5: The 'wall of awful' concept describes how ADHD clients experience task initiation as:
- A physical barrier in the environment
- An emotional barrier built from accumulated past failures and shame (Correct answer)
- A medication side effect
- Cognitive rigidity in planning
Correct answer: An emotional barrier built from accumulated past failures and shame
The 'wall of awful' describes the accumulated emotional weight of past ADHD-related failures that creates an invisible barrier to starting tasks.
Question 6: Reward pathways in ADHD are characterized by:
- Normal dopamine response to all rewards
- Delayed reward insensitivity and reduced dopamine response (Correct answer)
- Heightened sensitivity to all types of rewards
- Overactive serotonin pathway compensation
Correct answer: Delayed reward insensitivity and reduced dopamine response
ADHD brains show reduced dopaminergic response to rewards, especially delayed rewards, making long-term motivation neurologically challenging.
CAA CAA ADHD Neuroscience and Brain-Based Understanding 2
The 'interest-based nervous system' model by Dr.
William Dodson states ADHD brains are activated by tasks that are: