Podcast notes : ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus | Episode 37
Introduction
Dr. Huberman discusses both behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for ADHD and brain-machine interface tools. He also discusses behavioral training protocols that can improve focus in people with ADHD and those without ADHD and for people of different ages. He discusses the role of dopamine in coordinating ‘default-mode’ and ‘task-related’ neural networks, attentional “blinks” (lapses of attention) and how to overcome them, and the role of actual blinks in time perception and attention. Finally, Dr. Huberman reviews some of the prescription and over-the-counter compounds for increasing focus, such as Adderall, Ritalin, Modafinil and Armodafinil, the racetams, Alpha-GPC and phosphatidylserine and the role of diet for managing ADHD (and the controversies of diet for ADHD).
The role of cell phones/technology in ADHD and ADHD-like challenges with focus are also discussed. Throughout, both basic science and clinical scenarios, as well as applicable tools and resources, are covered.
Link
ATTENTION & FOCUS, IMPULSE CONTROL
[00:13:35] Attention is how we are perceiving the sensory world. Among all stimulis we constantly receive, we choose to pay attention to only some of them. The ones that we’re paying attention to are our perceptions.
HYPER-FOCUS & DOPAMINE
[00:25:13] Dopamine gives us motivation is largely responsible for our ability to pay attention to things in our external world. It acts a bit like fuel that allows us to pursue things.
[00:25:51] With less dopamine, we tend to view the entire world, whereas more gives us the ability to hyperfocus by creating a narrow tunnel of our attention.
LOW DOPAMINE IN ADHD & STIMULANT USE & ABUSE
“If dopamine levels are too low in particular circuits in the brain that leads to unnecessary firing of neurons in the brain that are unrelated to the task that one is trying to do and that is unrelated to the information that one is trying to focus on.”
SUGAR, RITALIN, ADDERALL, MODAFINIL & ARMODAFINIL
[00:39:48] Ritalin, Adderall, Modafinil & Armodafinil are drugs developed by pharmaceutical companies for the treatment of ADHD. They all serve to increase dopamine levels in the networks that control task-oriented behavior and coordinate the default mode network.
[00:43:27] Pharmaceutical versions of drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine methamphetamine are neither more nor less than Adderall (which is a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) or Ritalin. Even though amphetamine based drugs are incredibly dangerous and habit-forming compare to Adderall, the effect in the brain and body is essentially the same.
WHEN TO MEDICATE: A HIGHLY INFORMED (ANECDOTAL) CASE STUDY
[00:55:39] Childhood plasticity (from 3 to 12 or 13) is much greater than adult plasticity. For children affected by ADHD, early treatment is key. Early drugs use can learn them how to focus in a variety of different contexts.
ELIMINATION DIETS & ALLERGIES IN ADHD
[01:02:54] Children with ADHD should be encouraged to avoid sugar. Some foods exacerbate the symptoms, eliminating them is a good idea (also, they change over time).
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS: EPAS & DHAS
[01:05:43] Omega 3 fatty acids have positive health benefits and have shown to have positive but modest effects on focus. Some studies show that Omega 3 fatty acids, which contain 1000mg or more EPAX, can allow adults with ADHD or mild attention deficit issues to function well on lower doses of medication.
ATTENTIONAL BLINKS
“Attentional blink is a phenomenon that reflects temporal limitations in the ability to deploy visual attention. When people must identify two visual stimuli in quick succession, accuracy for the second stimulus is poor if it occurs within 200 to 500 ms of the first.” — Wikipedia
[01:10:50] How do we focus, and how do we get better at focus?
[01:11:20] Book recommendation by Dr. Huberman if you’re interested in neuroscience and things like meditation and default mode networks: “Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body”
[01:15:36] Focus on something in particular necessarily means you’ll be missing other information.
OPEN MONITORING & 17MINUTE FOCUS ENHANCEMENT
[01:20:32] The working memory gets worse as people take age, as well as their ability to focus. The number of attentional blinks goes up. The simple meditation practice of 15–20 minutes (just sitting and quietly resting and paying attention to one’s breathing) can lower age-related cognitive decline.
BLINKING, DOPAMINE & TIME PERCEPTION; & FOCUS TRAINING
[01:24:32] Our perception of time changed on a moment-to-moment basis by often we blink our eyes. By the way, for the moment there is no science-based relation between blinking and sociopathy.
[01:26:08] Dopamine is controlling attention, blinks relate to attention and focus as well. Therefore, the dopamine and blinking system is a way that you constantly modulate and update your perception of time but one that you can’t control.
RITALIN, ADDERALL, MODAFINIL, ARMODAFINIL; SMART DRUGS & CAFFEINE: DANGERS
[01:44:38] Ritalin, Adderall, Modafinil, Armodafinil have the same side effects that are sometimes a bit heavy, the one exception is caffeine. Caffeine side effects can be anxiety if you ingest too much or insomnia if you drink too late in the day.
[01:47:36] The best use of Adderall, Modafinil, and Ritalin is combined with behavioral exercises that actively engage circuits that you’re trying to train up and enhance. The desired goal, though, is perhaps tapering off those drugs so that you can use those circuits without any need for chemical intervention.
DHA FATTY ACIDS, PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE
[01:50:09] As said, the consumption of Omega 3 fatty acids can positively modulate the systems for attention and focus. Getting a sufficient level of EPAX and a threshold of 300mg of DHA plus 200mg of phosphatidylserine can be an essential augment for improving the symptoms of ADHD.
MODAFINIL & ARMODAFANIL: DOPAMINE ACTION & OREXIN
[01:52:48] Unlike Ritalin and Adderall, Modafinil and Armodafinil are weak dopamine reuptake inhibitors, and that’s how they lead to big increases in dopamine. It leads to more dopamine around to be active at the synapse (the goas between neurons). It directly acts on the appetite and feeling sleepiness circuits.
L-TYROSINE, (PEA) PHENYLETHYLAMINE
[01:59:14] L. Tyrosine leads to an increase in dopamine and can therefore improve the ability to concentrate. However, the dosage can be very tricky to dial in. Sometimes it makes people feel too euphoric or too jittery or too alert that they are then unable to focus well. Typically you see evidence for 100mg up to 1200mg, that really should be approached with caution.
[02:00:36] The website examine.com is good to evaluate the right dosage according to the literature.
TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION; COMBINING TECHNOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY
“Nowadays it’s possible to stimulate the motor cortex or any area of the brain with some degree of precision that could create the impulse to move without actually making the decision to move.”
SMART PHONES & ADHD & SUB-CLINICAL FOCUS ISSUES IN ADULTS & KIDS
[02:10:56] The brain loves visual motion, smartphones and other new technologies built to capture our attention appear to induce a sort of ADHD. While studies on this are ongoing because prominent use of smartphones really took off right around 2010, there are good reasons this is a new challenge for the future.
Further reading :
On my blog, there is a section with all my podcasts notes : https://www.julfi.me/podcasts
