Just as depression is “explained” by the biologically minded as resulting from a lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin, ADHD is chalked up to an insufficiency of dopamine, the brain’s incentive-motivation molecule. So we prescribe dopamine-enhancing stimulants, such as Ritalin or Adderall. While dopamine certainly seems to be implicated, here, too, medical practice ignores the interaction of physiology and environment. Today, voluminous research has linked the symptoms of ADHD to trauma or early stress, and has shown that both can impact the dopamine circuits of the brain and that adversity
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