Dass ADHS „in der Gegenwart feststeckt“, könnte seine Wurzeln in einer bestimmten Netzwerkkommunikation im Gehirn haben. Personen, die über eine bessere Zukunftsperspektive und eine bessere Fähigkeit zur Zukunftsplanung berichten, weisen tendenziell weniger ADHS-bezogene Merkmale auf, und eine neue Studie zeigt, dass dies mit bestimmten Gehirnnetzwerken zusammenhängt.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278584625001812

From the linked article:

**ADHD’s “stuck in the present” nature may be rooted in specific brain network communication**

A recent study has identified a potential brain-based explanation for the connection between future-oriented thinking and the characteristics of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. The research suggests that the strength of communication between specific brain networks is linked to a **person’s ability to plan for the future**, which in turn is associated with the severity of inattention and hyperactivity. The findings were published in Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry.

One cognitive framework that appears related to these traits is known as future time perspective. This concept refers to an individual’s tendency to think about, plan for, and orient their life toward future goals. People with a strong future time perspective are often skilled at self-regulation, connecting their current actions to long-term objectives.

Previous behavioral studies have observed that **individuals who report a higher future time perspective tend to show fewer ADHD-related characteristics**. The biological underpinnings of this relationship, however, have remained largely unknown.

The analysis showed that a higher future time perspective was associated with greater gray matter volume in two brain areas: the superior medial frontal gyrus and the left precentral gyrus, regions involved in self-reflection and action planning. At the same time, a higher future perspective was linked to less gray matter in the left inferior parietal lobule and the left superior temporal gyrus, areas related to cognitive control and processing information.

This analysis yielded a specific pattern. The left inferior parietal lobule, a key node in the brain’s cognitive control network, showed a significant relationship. Individuals with a higher future time perspective exhibited stronger functional connectivity, or communication, between this region and two parts of the medial prefrontal cortex: the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These prefrontal areas are central to the brain’s default mode network and are involved in processes like setting future goals and evaluating their personal value.

The researchers also found that the strength of this communication pathway between the inferior parietal lobule and the medial prefrontal cortex was itself negatively associated with ADHD traits. Stronger connectivity was linked to lower levels of both inattention and hyperactivity. This finding connected a specific brain circuit to both the cognitive style of future thinking and the behavioral traits of ADHD.

ADHD is quite heterogenous as well. A friend has that from childhood due to a benign cyst. He’s brain on an EEG is lit up like a Christmas tree with different colors.

Most energetic guy I know. Entrepreneurial.

Survival? ADHD is rooted in survival mode, your brain functions in overdrive, noticing or overthinking things that most people dont think about. ADHD individuals CAN be extremely high functioning, like abnormally high functioning, yet they can also forget things that are not in their immediate presence. Its a survival adaptation that COULD be harnessed into unlocking the keys to the brain. Instead, it is beaten out of us (at least in the USA).

I wonder if this is why I had such issues imagining my future as a child? Or even things like consequences in the near future?

Not in a way that was like… I couldn’t *understand* it would happen. I could imagine future things logically. „if I do this, this will happen“ sort of thing. But I never had any emotional connection to it.
I could look forward to small known things tho. Like going to a party. But I guess I didn’t really look forward to things „far“ in to the future. I didn’t feel longing for Christmas in the summer for example.
Imagining myself just 1 year in to the future was really hard to do.

But I’ve learnt this a little bit? I think?

I’m very much **not** the hyperactive kind of adhd tho. So maybe this has nothing to do with my adhd.

If you are not in front of me, I forget you exist. I still care about you, but you exist in general space-time, as a concept, and I just assume you’ll always be somewhere.

I believe ADHD is a trait that was beneficial to humans when we spent more time in nature and didn’t need to sit in one spot and be subjected to rigid learning structures. Our schools are not accommodating normal human behaviour and instead try to fit every person into a strict shape that many do not fit into.