A 17-year longitudinal study from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev followed children from birth to adolescence to explore whether early-life factors can predict ADHD, and for whom the environment matters most.

The scientists found that babies who were especially active and energetic in their first month of life were far more influenced by their surroundings. These high-energy infants, particularly when their parents also had many ADHD symptoms, reacted strongly—both for better and for worse—to the quality of the environment at home.

The stimulants Ritalin and Adderall have been used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for decades, but research shows they don’t act on the brain’s attention circuitry as had long been assumed.

In a stunning keynote address at the 2018 International ADHD conference, esteemed expert Dr. Russell Barkley reframed ADHD as an under-acknowledged disorder of public health. While shocking to imagine ADHD impacts quality of life on such a fundamental ...

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For decades, doctors assumed ADHD medications like Ritalin and Adderall work by fixing problems in the brain’s attention system. A new study suggests that assumption may be wrong.