In this episode, hosts Brooke Borel and Anna Rothschild ask: Is ADHD a disorder? The condition affects millions of people around the world, and their symptoms are certainly real. But scientists are not in agreement whether or not to call ADHD a true disorder._ _Their guests this week are Barbara Franke, a professor of molecular psychiatry at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and Edmund Sonuga-Barke, a developmental psychologist and a professor at King’s College London._ _Below is the full transcript of the podcast, lightly edited for clarity.
You can also subscribe to Entanglements on__Apple Podcasts__and__Spotify__._ **Brooke Borel:** Out of curiosity, do you know anyone who has ADHD? **Anna Rothschild:** Uh, I would say like almost all of my best friends have ADHD. **Brooke Borel:** Yes, I also know many people who have ADHD — friends, family, etc. And it’s not surprising, right? Around 22 million people have been diagnosed with ADHD in the United States alone, and currently about one in nine kids get diagnosed with it at some point in their childhood. **Brooke Borel:** Totally.
And you know what’s even more wild? Even though all these people have it, scientists still can’t agree on what ADHD even is. Welcome to Entanglements, the show where we dig into the thorniest scientific debates and try to find common ground.
I’m Brooke Borel, articles editor at Undark Magazine. **Anna Rothschild:** And I’m science journalist Anna Rothschild. All right, Brooke, so what is going on with ADHD? **Brooke Borel:** OK, so ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It’s listed as a neurodevelopmental disorder in the current DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. **Anna Rothschild:** Basically the bible of mental health disorders. **Brooke Borel:** Right.
And people diagnosed with ADHD may have trouble paying attention. They might be really impulsive or hyperactive, and as a result they have trouble functioning in certain settings, like at home or at school or at work. **Anna Rothschild:** OK, I’m with you so far, but there is a ton of scientific research on ADHD, right? Like, how is this still an open question? **Brooke Borel:** Absolutely, you are correct.
Scientists have long been looking for the biological underpinnings of ADHD, like the genetics or potential brain differences, but there’s a growing discussion on whether all that data really shows that this is a disorder. **Anna Rothschild:** I mean, I don’t want to invalidate the experience of 22 million right? **Anna Rothschild:**Like, surely we both have friends and relatives who have really struggled because of their ADHD. **Brooke Borel:** Absolutely 100 percent. The group of symptoms that we call ADHD is obviously real, and people are genuinely affected by it. That’s not up for debate.
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