- ADHD may have evolved because foragers relocated when food was scarce
- The survival rates meant ADHD could evolve over the last 12,000 years
- READ MORE: What are the symptoms of ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may not play a major role in survival in today’s society, but for hunter-gatherers, it could have been a lifesaving.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms including difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania set out to uncover the origins of the disorder, finding it may have evolved at least 12,000 years ago.
The study asked hundreds of people to play a foraging video game to test how long participants would scavenge for berries on one bush before moving to another – the same behavior as hunter-gatherers.
The team found that those with ADHD quickly proceeded onto new bushes after finding no berries and believe ancient humans may have survived because they evolved to have impulsivity to move on when food sources were scarce.
Hunter-gatherers with ADHD may have had a better chance of survival because they were more likely to move to another area quickly when food in the region became scarce. This may mean that they had a higher survival rate, allowing ADHD to evolve over thousands of years
‘If [these traits] were truly negative, then you would think that over evolutionary time, they would be selected against,’ David Barack, philosopher and neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the study told The Guardian.
‘Our findings are an initial data point, suggestive of advantages in certain choice contexts.’
An estimated 8.7 million people in the U.S. have ADHD, with at least six million being children.
Studies on ADHD have linked genetic factors to the disorder and some scientists are investigation brain injuries as the root cause.
The team instructed 506 U.S. participants to play an online foraging game for eight minutes, and in that timeframe, they were required to pick as many berries from a digital bush as they could.
They were given the option to move on to stay at the current bush or move to another, and researchers found that those with ADHD were more likely to cut their losses and move on to another bush quicker than non-ADHD participants.
Participants were given directions for the virtual patch foraging task and were told to forage for as many berries as they could within the limited time frame. Participants with ADHD spent four seconds less on a bush before moving on to the next than non-ADHD participants
Researchers found that those with ADHD were more likely to cut their losses and move on to another bush quicker than non-ADHD participants.
Researchers had participants fill out a questionnaire to identify those who had ADHD before playing the game.
They asked questions including: ‘How often do you have difficulty concentrating?’ and ‘How often do you leave your seat in … situations in which you are expected to remain seated?’
The study, published in The Royal Society, explained that based on participants’ responses, researchers identified 67.3 percent of participants tested positive for ADHD.
These ADHD symptoms may not mean what you think
Researchers used a machine learning algorithm that scored the self-reported screening based on updated criteria for the disorder from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth edition (DSM-5).
Participants were excluded if they completed less than 25 trials or if they reported that they misunderstood the directions – bringing the final number of participants to 457.
The researchers tested for links between participants’ foraging decisions and their self-reported ADHD scale scores and found that those who ranked higher on the ADHD spectrum spent four seconds less on each patch and picked more berries than their non-ADHD counterparts.
Their findings shed light on how hunter-gatherers may have survived by moving to a different area when food in a region became scarce.
Although the root cause of ADHD remains unknown, the disorder tends to be passed down genetically, with family members of those with ADHD having an 80 percent chance of having it themselves, according to the National Library of Medicine.
‘Determining exactly how behaviors associated with ADHD may have been adaptive within past environments is difficult, and these results are compelling in that they demonstrate measurable differences in the foraging strategies employed by individuals with and without ADHD,’ Dan Eisenberg co-author of the study and associate professor at the University of Washington in Seattle told New Scientist.
‘ADHD can be a serious problem but it’s a problem in large measure because of today’s environments,’ he added.
Read more
News Related
-
, Nov. 28 — One of the most anticipated Android releases for 2023 has been the Google Pixel 8 lineup. The Pixel series is often considered the best of what Android has to offer since it brings the true stock Android experience. The Pixel 8 Pro was globally released on ...
See Details:
Google Pixel 8 Pro Review: Is this the best Android phone of 2023?
-
A blank space or an (NR) indicates no readings received. An (e) indicates that the water level has been estimated. An (w) indicates that the conditions were very windy, resulting in an inaccurate reading. Omatjenne Dam does not have abstraction facilities. The dam contents are according to the latest dam ...
See Details:
Namwater Dam Bulletin on Monday 27 November 2023
-
Dhaka, Nov. 27 — Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has been appointed chair of the international advisory board of Moscow’s Financial University (under the government of the Russian Federation). On November 23, he joined a high-level strategic meeting with Prof Stanislav Prokofiev, Rector of the Financial University, and his colleagues. ...
See Details:
Dr Yunus appointed chair of Moscow Financial University's international advisory board
-
In a pivotal encounter at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup Africa Final Monday, the Cricket Cranes faced Nigeria, knowing that a win could significantly boost their chances of securing one of the coveted tickets to the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA.Nigeria won ...
See Details:
Victory over Nigeria puts Uganda on the brink
-
Capture 1 The Bank Ghana (BoG) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has maintained the key policy rate at 30 percent, while introducing additional liquidity management measures to address excess liquidity and reinforce the disinflation process. Announcing the committee’s decision on Monday following its 115th meeting, BoG Governor Dr. Ernest Addison said ...
See Details:
BoG holds policy rate at 30%, tightens liquidity measures
-
Renita Holmes has been displaced four times in the past three years by rising rents With sea levels rising around the globe, Miami, in the US state of Florida, is facing an urgent need to adapt. As property investors turn their gaze inland, away from the exclusive low-lying beach area, ...
See Details:
When sea levels rise, so does your rent
-
Picture2 In a groundbreaking moment, Mrs. Adelaide Siaw Agyepong, CEO-American International School, has achieved yet another milestone by being crowned ‘Icon of Inspiration and Impact for the Year 2023’. The crowning achievement took place in Accra, where Mrs. Siaw Agyepong surpassed contemporaries to clinch this prestigious title at the 5th ...
See Details:
American International School CEO honoured as ‘Icon of Inspiration and Impact’
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Sierra Leone prison breaks co-ordinated - minister
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Address the rise of single parenthood
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Hyundai Chief Picked as Auto Industry Leader of the Year
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Unmarried People Under 35 Outnumber Married Ones
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
European interior ministers in Hungary to discuss migration
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
Japan on the watch for unlicensed taxis around Narita airport amid foreign tourism spike
-
Freetown’s streets were almost empty on Sunday after a curfew was imposed Gunmen in Sierra Leone attacked a military barracks and freed hundreds of prisoners in a “co-ordinated and properly planned” attack, the country’s information minister has said. Sierra Leoneans spent Sunday under a nationwide curfew amid disarray in capital ...
See Details:
ECOWAS to send high-powered delegation on solidarity visit to Sierra Leone
OTHER NEWS
Despite doing education at the university, Mellon Kenyangi, also known as Mama Bear, did not think of going to class, and teaching students was her dream job.“Since it was not ...
Read more »
213 Sri Lanka Cricket’s Chairman of Selectors, Pramodya Wickramasinghe reported to the Sports Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit( SMSIU) for the Prevention of Sports Offences yesterday for the second day. He ...
Read more »
137 Malindu Dairy (Pvt) Ltd., a leading food production company in Sri Lanka, won the Silver Award in the medium-scale dairy and associated products category at the Industrial Excellence Awards ...
Read more »
Africans Urged to Invest Among themselves, Explore Investment Opportunities in Continent Addis Ababa, November 27/2023(ENA)-The Embassy of Angola in Ethiopia has organized lecture on the “Foreign Investment Opportunities in Angola ...
Read more »
144 The dynamic front row player Mohan Wimalaratne will lead the Police Sports Club Rugby team at the upcoming Nippon Paint Sri Lanka Rugby Major League XV-a-side Rugby Tournament scheduled ...
Read more »
Dozens of people living with disabilities from New Hope Inclusive in Entumbane, Bulawayo on Saturday last week received an early Christmas gift in the form of groceries. The groceries were ...
Read more »
The East African Community (EAC) Summit of Heads of State has admitted the Federal Republic of Somalia to the regional bloc, making it its 8th member country. The decision was ...
Read more »