Everything you didn’t know about ADHD

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Dr. Jeanette Mostert
About the Author

Dr. Jeanette Mostert specializes in Cognitive Neuroscience and Biological Psychiatry and is the Dissemination Manager for several Horizon2020 projects, including CoCA, PRIME and Eat2BeNice/New Brain Nutrition.


ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. You probably knew that. And so you might also know that individuals with ADHD experience mainly problems with inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity. But did you know that emotional problems are also often part of ADHD? Or that individuals with ADHD are on average more creative? No worries if you didn’t, because research on this is still quite new!

In the Pint of Science Episode “Everything you didn’t know about ADHD” three young scientists talk about their novel research on ADHD. Mirjam Bloemendaal investigates the ADHD gut microbiome – you might have read about that on this blog. Mandy Meijer looks at a molecule called methyl that can bind to DNA and change the amount or type of proteins that are made in the body. This methyl molecule can be influenced by factors from outside your body, such as smoking, and are thought to also play a role in ADHD. And Babette Jakobi investigates how emotions are processed in the ADHD brain, to better understand how emotional problems are part of this condition.

I greatly enjoyed talking with these women about their research and asking them questions. The show was live-streamed, but you can watch the episode back here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtXQxKWM45Q

Pint of Science is a global festival from 17 – 19 May that takes place all over the world. Usually, scientists go to bars to talk about their science over a beer. This year, most of the festival takes place online. If you want to know what’s happening in your country, go to: https://pintofscience.com/