What distinguishes Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) from a development disorder of the prefrontal cortex inhibitory connection to the Striatum?
In his (French) book "Le Bug Humain", Sébastien Bohler argues (quite convincingly, I would say) that the Striatum (a critical component of the motor and reward systems, present in the brain of all vertebrates) evolved into a mechanism to always wanting more (by environments where it would most often yield a survival edge) food, sex, social ranking, information and efficiency. The author focuses on the consequences of the mechanical details of the interaction of the Striatum with the prefrontal cortex on the interaction of the current human civilization with its environment (a topic worthy of interest in itself), and devotes very little space commenting about how the prefrontal cortex can be (and is usually) trained to partially inhibit the Striatum (e.g. the marshmallow test), but how "Millenials", as the first generation exposed during the maturation years of their prefrontal cortex (18-25) to such "fast feedback systems" as Internet and Smart Phones, displays behavioral symptoms (e.g. impulsivity, lack of patience, addictive behaviors) typical of a poor development of the connection between the prefrontal cortex and the Striatum.
The symptoms described by Sébastien Bohler for such development problem seem very similar to those of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ("excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity"), and the timing and causes which he describes (first generation exposed to fast feedback system) seem to match other descriptions of an epidemic of "Adult ADHD". Yet
- Sébastien Bohler does not mention ADHD in his book (which, as a neuro-scientist, I am pretty sure he knows about); and
- the striatum is mentioned on the wikipedia page for ADHD only as a related location in the brain ("The dopamine pathways and norepinephrine pathways which project to the prefrontal cortex and striatum are directly responsible for (...)").
Without claiming to have found a connection that everybody else ignored until now (I am aware of my ignorance in neuro-psychology and only trying to understand and learn), I am wondering if such a connection has been considered and already discarded (and why). I am guessing that "it's more complicated", but then I would be curious to learn more about it!
(I hope my question makes sense?)
