ADHD: An Evolutionary Advantage?

Was ADHD an evolutionary advantage? Well maybe according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society. The lead researcher has said: “If [these traits] were truly negative, then you would think that over evolutionary time, they would be selected against… Our findings are an initial data point, suggestive of advantages in certain choice contexts.”

The group analysed data from an online foraging game conducted by 457 adults where each participant had to collect as many berries as possible in eight berries. The number of berries obtained from each bush decreased with the number of times it was foraged, and participants could then choose to either keep going in the same location, or move to a new patch but that would cost them time.

Each participant was screened for ADHD symptoms (though screening does not equal diagnosis!) and found those those with higher scores for possible ADHD traits spent shorter periods at each location. They were more likely to abadon one patch and move to the next one but they also collected more berries overall.

Personally, I don’t think the specifics of this study hold up, because a significant proportion of those screened with high ADHD traits likely don’t have ADHD, as such tests are designed to be sensitive rather than specific, and not all inattentive, hyperactivity and impulsive equals ADHD. However, studies like this are times for us all to pause and reflect that just because medicine labels neurodevelopmental conditions as disorders, doesn’t automatically make them disabling in every circumstance. In fact many can lead to strengths in some circumstances beyond what neurotypical people are capable of. For mental health professionals reading this, ask your patients how their ADHD affects them broadly, without making presumptions that it only affects them in negative ways.