#working memory

[turns-out-its-adhd]

#adhd memes #neurodivergence #adult adhd #adhd #neurodiversity #neurodiversesquad #adhd brain #adhd things #neurodiverse stuff #adhd mood #working memory #if I could keep a thought in my head for longer than 5 seconds I would be unstoppable

[blackcrowing]

Meditating with ADHD advice

Keeping your mind "blank" is unrealistic and stressful. Forget it, throw it out the window, that line is not for us.

What you're really trying to do is keep your working memory empty. Thoughts will wonder in, thoughts will wonder out, no worries. The song you have playing in the background of your brain, totally fine, just keep it in the background, keep all that in the background.

You're taking those 700 balls that you jungle all day desperately trying to keep in the front of your mind, lest you forget them and drop them, and telling them to fuck off for a while. 3 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes. Doesn't matter. just give yourself a mental nap where you're not fighting to hold on to the things in your working memory space.

#working memory #executive dysfunction #ADHD #meditation #advice

[sassypotatoe1]

Today's medical paranoia game: is it early onset Alzheimers disease or just my adhd?

Hint: working memory and decision making is equally impacted in patients with adhd and patients with mildly progressed dementia.

Answer: it's my adhd and I need to partake in more frequent physical activity.

Anxiety's answer: you have Alzheimers you're going to wet yourself you'll get lost driving home you'll forget your own name you'll die you'll die you'll die this is not actually true but countering these thoughts are proving difficult

#paranoia #Medical paranoia #medical anxiety #Mental health #cognitive functions #neurology #neurodivergent #adhdlife #living with adhd #adhd things #working memory #decisionmaking

[structuredsucc]

The worst thing about ADHD working memory issues is that you don't remember forgetting things.

I just have zero awareness at all until its too late.

It's just nothing... nothing... nothing...

... ... ...

OMG I FORGOT THE ICE CREAM IN THE TRUNK AGAIN!

#adhd #adhd tax #memory #working memory #farewell my sweet ice cream

[art-of-mathematics]

https://www.quantamagazine.org/overtaxed-working-memory-knocks-the-brain-out-of-sync-20180606/

#neuroscience #cogsci #working memory #quanta magazine #quanta mag #STEM #cognition #overloaded working memory #memory #memory processing #cognitive science

[neurodiversitysci]

Are You Interested in ADHD Research? Here’s Where to Start

A reader recently asked me, in reply to a recent blog post about Russell Barkley, what important research is being done on ADHD, and who is doing it.

The best place to start exploring ADHD research is with the World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement (open access PDF here). This 2021 meta-analysis lists 208 evidence-based conclusions about ADHD. 

It makes an excellent introduction to ADHD research because it spans a variety of topics, including:

Who has ADHD and how common it is worldwide

Genetic and environmental causes, 

How the brain differs in ADHD,  

How ADHD affects skills in cognitive and academic areas,

What treatments are safe and effective, 

What life outcomes affect people with ADHD -- including educational achievement, peer relationships, health problems, rates of accidents and substance abuse, quality of life, and more.

The paper is well organized, with the conclusions placed under clear, useful topic headings. 

The writing style seems clear, and fairly easy to read. There’s not much jargon, as research papers go. However, I’m a former cognitive neuroscientist who has probably read thousands of research papers, so your mileage may vary, depending on your experience reading psychology and neuroscience research papers.

Who: 

There were 80 authors from 27 countries and 6 continents, led by prolific researcher Stephen V. Faraone.  

Authors were representatives of national and international ADHD organizations, such as the World Federation of ADHD, EUropean NETwork for Hyperkinetic DisorderS (Eunethydis), the Latin American League of ADHD, the Chinese Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, etc.

What they Did:

1. The authors reviewed studies that had at least 2,000 participants, meta-analyses of five or more studies, and meta-analyses with at least 2,000 participants. 

2. Based on this research, the authors created 208 evidence-based statements about ADHD.

3. Finally, 403 people read the manuscript and agreed with its contents.

Why:

This was the second international consensus statement written about ADHD. It updates the original statement by “cataloging important scientific discoveries from the last 20 years.”

“Nearly 2 decades ago, an international team of scientists published the first International Consensus Statement on ADHD. They sought to present the wealth of scientific data attesting to the validity of ADHD as a mental disorder and to correct misconceptions about the disorder that stigmatized affected people, reduced the credibility of health care providers, and prevented or delayed treatment of individuals challenged by the disorder.” [bold added by me].

Keep in mind that not every interesting topic in ADHD research is covered: 

“If a topic is not included in this document, it does not mean the topic is unimportant; rather, it means the evidence found was insufficient to allow firm conclusions.  This could be because there were insufficient studies of quality, because no attempt was made to assess publication bias, or because the data available did not support the claims made.” 

What they Found:

Here are some of the conclusions I think will be most interesting and important to ADHD people and their supporters:

ADHD is not new. Signs and symptoms have been recognized as clinically significant for over 200 years.

The diagnosis of ADHD is valid, based on standard criteria for the validity of a mental disorder.

ADHD occurs throughout the world. It affects about 6% of youth and 3% of adults, and is more common in males than females.

ADHD has not become more common in the past 30 years.

There are many genetic and environmental causes for ADHD.

Environmental causes typically affect fetuses and newborns. Environmental causes include: exposure to toxins; nutrient deficiencies; very/extremely preterm birth or low birthweight; extreme deprivation, stress, infection, poverty, or trauma early in life; or traumatic brain injury early in life.

There are differences in the brain between groups of people with and without ADHD. However, these are not useful for diagnosing ADHD. First, these differences are typically small. Second, they do not differ between ADHD and other disabilities. 

Differences in the brain are structural (such as cortical surface area, gray matter volume, white matter integrity) and functional (activation in specific areas in general and while doing specific tasks, as measured by fMRI and electroencephalogram activity).

ADHD medications do not change brain structure. They do affect brain function, especially in inferior frontal and striatal areas that are atypical in ADHD.

As a group, people with ADHD have deficits in a variety of abilities measured with psychological/neuropsychological tests, including: academic achievement (reading, spelling, arithmetic); working memory; various forms of attention; planning and organization; impulsive decision making; and a preference for small immediate rewards over large delayed rewards.

Some medical problems are more common in ADHD, including allergies and asthma; obesity; sleep disorders; somatic disorders; and more.

ADHD can reduce quality of life for young people and their parents, relative to typically developing young people and their parents.

Children and youth with ADHD are more emotionally disregulated. They may be more emotionally reactive to novel or stressful events.

Children and youth with ADHD are more likely to have emotional problems, conduct problems, or peer problems/difficulty socializing with and rejection by peers, and to engage in bullying.

Children and youth with ADHD have higher rates of accidental injuries and traumatic brain injury (TBI), substance use disorders, risky behavior, and premature death.

Children and youth with ADHD have higher rates of suicide.

People with ADHD are more likely to be both perpetrators and victims of crime. However, they are also more likely to make false confessions.

People with ADHD are more likely to experience educational underachievement, such as lower achievement, needing special education services, dropping out of school, or not graduating high school on time.

Several medications are safe and effective for treating ADHD symptoms, including both stimulant and non-stimulant medications. These medications have specific adverse effects, including on sleep and children’s height gain. 

Some non-medication treatments for ADHD are safe and effective, including “behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies,” computer-based cognitive training and neurofeedback, omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and exercise.

What’s Next?

Remember that not every research finding about ADHD was included in the paper. The Discussion section lists things we still need to learn more about. Here are some of my favorites:

How culture affects the way ADHD manifests and responds to treatment

How ADHD affects older adults

Effects of stigma on people with ADHD

The nature of emotional regulation symptoms of ADHD, and whether they should be added to the diagnostic criteria

In addition, I noticed some topics were missing despite a large body of research exploring them, and in my opinion, good evidence (at least from studies with fewer than 2,000 participants):

The overlap between ADHD and other developmental disabilities, such as autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and developmental coordination disorder (DCD)/dyspraxia.

The role of dopamine in ADHD.

The rates of anxiety and depression in people with ADHD.

Variability in performance (especially response time) from moment to moment, which researchers call “intra-individual variability,” and which I’ve read is perhaps the best-supported symptom of ADHD -- is mentioned as part of the findings of one meta-analysis (#67), but not as a fact about ADHD in its own right.

How can I use the paper to learn more?

Here are some ways you can use this paper as a jumping-off-point to learn more about research findings that interest you. These suggestions are aimed mostly at people who don’t read a lot of research papers, so feel free to ignore them if you have more experience. 

1. First, see Table 1 for the summary of findings. You can follow links from the table to whichever findings most interest you.

2. Read the introduction, discussion, and the sections that interest you. 

3. Look at the references for claims that seem interesting or surprising. 

Who wrote these papers? Check out the authors’ websites, and see what they’re studying. Search Google scholar for their names, and you will find a list of their papers, which you can sort by date. 

4. Follow up by reading interesting cited papers: The easiest way to find specific papers is to search Google scholar for the titles. You can always find the abstracts free at the publisher’s website. On Google Scholar, you can often find a free pdf of the full text on the right-hand margin of the page. (If you don’t see one there, click the button “See x versions” next to the link to “Related articles”).

Have you read the International Consensus Statement? What did you think? Did anything in it, or not included, surprise you?

#adhd #actually adhd #research #psychology research #adhd research #disability research #tw medication #cw medication #medication #Neuroscience #working memory #attention #impulsivity #diagnosis #neurodivergence #disabilities #disability #emotional regulation #emotional dysregulation #executive function #executive functioning #executive dysfunction #quality of life #social #health #tw suicide #tw bullying #adhd treatment

[attentionabundance]

"Time blindness" is just part of the ADHD package - it's a byproduct of wonky working memory. The good news is, there are lots of skills and strategies to manage it.

#adhd #adhd problems #adhd things #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #executive dysfunction #adhd brain #neurodiversity #working memory #time blindness #time blind #time management #adult adhd #attention abundance #prospective memory

[ramyeongif]

This taps into our visual working memory. We decide when we’re faced with all of the decisions.

#VisualWorkingMemory

#visual working memory #working memory #memory #attention #marie kondo

[a-little-rosey]

“the misplaced thoughts”

I feel like a lot of the time ADHD is talked about in terms of external behaviors, which can be masked. But, outside of the community you don’t hear much about what’s happening internally. This work was to show how the internal mechanisms of working memory and associative thinking, intersect for my ADHD.

[Image Description ID 1: White unglazed clay beads sit on a white podium. The room in the background is also white. They are gathered in small clusters. Holes pierce through them. There are two frayed yarn strings that connect the beads. These dangle precariously over the edge of the platform. The rest of the beads are disconnected. They resemble fossils, no longer arranged into a functional shape.

ID 2: Another angle. A close up of one of the clusters of beads. They are different geometric shapes that range from rectangular prisms to organic shapes to spheres. Here they are piled on top of each other. Some frayed yarn is visible. It lies over the beads.

ID 3: Another detail. Here they are arranged in to lines. Some are connected to the string that falls. Others lie nearby or on top of it.

ID 4: A similar image to the first but the camera further away. The stings fall, in line with them a hand is leaning at the bottom of the podium. It is slightly smaller then life sized and warped. Twisting around it self. A hole is in the bottom of it. It grasps for something, and a frayed broken piece of yarn falls out of it. Twisting in to a curl at the end, where a single bead is tied. A few other beads are scattered along side of it. /end ID]

#adhd things #working memory #associative thinking #sculpture #clay #textile

[semispeakingautie85]

Being assumed to be shy.

I give a response, I nod a yes or no.

But it’s not what I want to say. I might not even agree.

In fact, there is a fair chance I have no idea what you said at all.

I need time to process what you said. By the time I have you have moved on.

I need time and space to formulate my response.

But the moment has passed.

You think I am shy, actually I am Autistic and have auditory processing disorder, auditory working memory deficient, sensory processing difficulties and some problems converting my thoughts to speech.

Whilst I might appear socially anxious, I am actually feeling stressed because of how hard I am finding it to follow what your saying and to say what I want to say.

#actually autistic #semispeaking #semiverbal #autistic #auditory processing disorder #speech problems #speech #auditory processing problems #auditory sensory #auditory working memory #working memory #sensory processing disorder

[turns-out-its-adhd]

The Neuroanatomy of ADHD (recommend to watch on 1.25 speed)

Part of Dr Russel Barkley's talk about the neuroanatomy of ADHD, touching on topics of Working Memory, Motivation, Timing, and Emotional regulation. The full talk is also available on YouTube if you want to listen to it all.

I found his work very useful in understanding more about how ADHD can affect the 'expected' working functions of the brain. By being able to pin down more specifically the ways in which my brain differs from the typical, I feel better equipped to find and develop accommodations that actually work to combat them and also to accept and understand more about myself.

#neurodivergence #neuroanatomy #adhd #adult adhd #neurodiversity #adhd brain #adhd things #emotional dysregulation #working memory #time management #time blindness #task avoidance #procrastination #neurodiverse stuff #Dr Russel Barkley #neuroscience #brain function #adhd science #motivation #willpower #managing ADHD #adhd treatment #Youtube #actually adhd #actually neurodiverse

[just-eyobis]

I'm so sick and tired of forgetting important things and then people say "oh it must not have been important if you forgot [shruggy emoticon]."

Hey, fuck you.

#swear word #fuck #memory #working memory #adhd #bleh

[titan-god-helios]

30 days of autism acceptance: day 3

[3 April: How good or bad is your memory for things people say? For example verbal instructions. If you're deaf: Can you lip read? Do you think your autism influences your ability to lip read?]

my memory for this is TERRIBLE. like, absolute dogshit my mum could say two very short commands for me to do and i'll manage to do one, walk halfway down the stairs and ask what the second was when being asked questions or writing essays etc i'll forget the question or topic halfway through and have to look back or ask again (i feel terrible asking a person to repeat themselves though) any information passed to me verbally, i HAVE to write down if i want to remember it too - otherwise, its in and out the other side of the sieve of my brain </3

#memory #working memory bad #my memory is shit #30daysofautismacceptance #2023 #autism #being autistic #actuallyautistic #actually adhd #actually asd #actually autistic #asd #asd life #autism life #living with autism #working memory #challenge #30 day challenge #month

[tiktoksinspo]

#adhd #missing memories #damn #the more you know #acting #wow #memory #omg #long term memory #short term memory #working memory #oh #oh no #funny #comedy #tiktok #tiktoks #@hayleyhoneyman

[structuredsucc]

I truly love ADHD working memory issues because each morning I get to play a fun memory game called:

Did I Forget to Take my Meds or Did I Forget I Already Took my Meds?

My favourite part is the prizes:

First place prize is accidently taking them twice and being buzzy af. Second place gets to not take them and not function as a result. And all contestants get to feel anxious all day looking for signs as to which prize they won

#adhd #working memory #adhd medication #medication roulette #actually adhd #neurodivergent #executive function

[art-of-mathematics]

Since I mostly communicate in English (since some years), my German [native language] degenerated increasingly.

Additionally, my English suffers as well, because I constantly switch between the languages in my mind - The bilingualism requires too much "brain power", and often I come up with mixed German-English word-gibberish. I don't even recognize I switch between the languages if I talk with a person who us unable to comprehend/speak English.

Additionally, when I construct my sentences far too many synonyms pop up in my mind - and too many options how to deliver my thoughts/put my thoughts into sentences occur simultaneously - which results in a kind of entangled soup clot - and I mix all these chains of thought together and it becomes utterly incomprehensible in the end.

What sort of phenomenon is that?

I know that my Working Memory is overloaded with all the junk of detail infos it receives from my Long-Term-Memory; And additionally my memory/ information processing becomes increasingly slow if the Working Memory is "approaching its limit". If my Working Memory is approaching its limit it is especially prone to errors. Then, due to the "error-correction loop" (I think it's a form of metacognition) it requires increasingly more time to process information. This, in (re)turn, feeds back to overchallenging the Working Memory additionally.

#cog sci #cogsci #cognitive science #cognitive processes #cognitive process #memory processing #memory #working memory #long term memory #mental cpu #language processing #bilingualism #bilingual #metacognitive processes #metacognition #language