Adult-onset attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as neuroadaptation: rethinking attention in the modern environment

Objective: To examine the recent rise in adult-onset Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) through a biopsychosocial lens and comment on whether such diagnoses may relate to neuroadaptive responses to the attention economy. Conclusions: The boundaries between neurodevelopmental disorder and neuroadaptive distress have become blurred. While ADHD has historically been considered a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder, increasing diagnoses in adults raise questions about its validity and implications. Chronic psychosocial stress and environmental overstimulation are possible causes of ADHD-like symptoms. It is difficult to distinguish between neurodevelopmental dysfunction, desires for cognitive enhancement, and attention deficits arising from the psychosocial effects of information technologies and social media.We comment on the rising Australian diagnostic rates of ADHD in the context of the attention economy. In the contemporary attentional landscape, online companies compete for our attention. This landscape focuses on luring individuals to spend maximum time on platforms and bombarding them with highly addictive and incendiary content. Cumulative physiological and psychological stress may exceed the brain’s capacity to recover. The use of ADHD medications may represent an attempt to focus attention in the context of competing attentional demands from social media and new information technologies.