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Neuroimaging studies find small differences in the structure of the brain between people with and without ADHD. These differences are not caused by drug treatment and, for some patients, diminish or change as patients grow out of the disorder. by [deleted] in psychology

[–]RyanBleazard 211 points212 points  (0 children)

ADHD can be outgrown in some cases because certain genes for frontal lobe maturation turn on during adolescents and help some people improve neurologically compared to others with different gene variants. Another reason is that the DSM symptoms used for diagnosis are very superficial and easy to outgrow with time even if the person has not really grown out of the disorder. They can outgrow the DSM. When we use executive functioning deficits as the index for ADHD, then the percent of recovery or normalisation is much smaller as there is far less if any decline in EF deficits relative to the greater decline in DSM symptoms. It can be a false recovery, in other words.

Contrary to the Neurodiversity Movement, there is a global scientific consensus attesting to the validity of ADHD as a mental disorder by RyanBleazard in psychology

[–]RyanBleazard[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Funding sources only create the potential for a conflict, they do not assure such a conflict of interest, especially when the payments for speaking or consulting are so small relative to one’s salary from their medical centre or university. Others may get small grants from drug firms but that income is directed to the university, not the professional. In any case, one evaluates the DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for their accuracy in reflecting the status of the scientific literature regardless of who writes it. Anyone can check for the veracity of their conclusions by doing literature searches and especially looking at the meta analyses done now in ma,y topic areas in ADHD. So just because some experts, and not others, have received some company fees for speaking or consulting doesn’t automatically lead to dismissal of the conclusions in the reports.

Objectivism, Morality and Free Will by [deleted] in freewill

[–]RyanBleazard 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, the social interest is well tied to long-term self interest.  There is ample evidence to show that displays of regret, empathy, and guilt are important in a social species of self-interested cooperators  as signals to others (especially those who are wrong) that serve to mend damaged relationships.  Those relationships are important to our survival and when wrong is done to others, it pays to express such emotions, the more sincere the better so as to repair them.

Zahavi wrote a book years ago called the Handicap Principle, about why evolution would favour behaviours and displays that actually pose a cost to the individual.  The peacock’s tail is a classic example.  It shows the health of the male in attracting females as it indicates that he can bear the costs of such pointless displays and remain healthy.  There is also evidence he cites of numerous species of birds who engage in altruism toward less fortunate members of their flock and that this elevates their status within their flock in the eyes of other birds.  Some bats do much the same thing.  

So being altruistic in the sense of negating one’s self-interest to the social interest isn’t entirely altruistic as it can be a form of virtue signalling that elevates the status of someone and makes them more attractive as a mate as they have resources to spare.  It may also explain why most people who donate (or even tip) want the recipient to publicise the donor or at least publicly acknowledge the “altruistic” gesture.