Are attention deficit disorders evolutionary advantages that now find themselves in the “wrong” era? That’s the intriguing, evolutionary psychology-based hypothesis of Dr Sanil Rege, a Melbourne-based psychiatrist and medical educator.
The supposition of evolutionary psychology is that neurodiversity still exists, despite millions of years of evolution, because these diverse conditions provided evolutionary advantages over the course of human evolution.
Potential Evolutionary Advantages of ADHD
Dr Rege suggests that the traits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were indeed adaptive for much of human history. These traits – impulsivity, hyperactivity, distractibility and novelty-seeking – suited the imperatives of constant movement and exploration in the nomadic era.
“The default mode network – which drives curiosity and mind-wandering – is more active in ADHD brains,” says Rege, “enhancing exploration but making sustained attention harder.”
Individuals with ADHD are more accident-prone, for example, yet at the same time may detect danger faster and make quicker, more impulsive decisions. They may be quicker to detect potential rewards in the environment and avoid excessive risk aversion.
The challenge is that mental or psychiatric disorders – like substance use disorder, for instance – are not always defined by inherent characteristics but in proportion to the distress caused to the person. Yet that distress may not be inherent to the condition but rather to the social context that the person is immersed in, which include our perceptions of the “disorder itself”.
ADHD is currently heavily medicated in young people. This is especially so in the United States, which saw a 29% increase to 45 million annual ADHD prescriptions from 2019 to 2022.
The classroom environment, and its weirdness relative to the history of humankind, looms large in the debate. Formerly adaptive learning qualities associated with ADHD become very much maladaptive in the passive learning model of mass society.
The take-away is to try to find ways in which ADHD can be managed as a difference rather than a disorder wherever possible.
“Multimodal treatment approaches, including structured physical activity, adaptive learning environments that reduce cognitive overload and nutritional interventions, may provide supportive strategies,” says Dr Rege. He also emphasises exercise, vitamin D and sunlight, and diet, in order to regulate dopamine levels as much as possible.
Feature image courtesy of @seitamaaphotography via Unsplash.