• Neurocognitive Impact of ADHD in Children with Learning Disability and Psychiatric Disorders
  • Fatemeh Safaei,1,* Dariush D. Farhud,2 Ali Ahmadi,3
    1. B.Sc. Student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University Sari Branch, Sari, Iran
    2. M.Sc. Student, Department of Genetics, Faculty of Advanced Technologies and Science in Medicine, Islamic Azad University Tehran Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
    3. M. Sc. Student, Department of Genetics, Faculty of Advanced Technologies and Sciences in Medicine, Islamic Azad University Tehran Medical Science, Tehran, Iran


  • Introduction: Cognitive disorders are divided into three common neurological disorders: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental dyslexia and developmental dyslexia. An overview of the research situation shows that most studies use repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) techniques and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and unequal distribution among clinical conditions. The risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) increases significantly in young adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. This review explores ADHD-specific neurocognitive disorders as possible underlying mechanisms for ADHD-depressive comorbidity. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adulthood and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) have many cognitive and non-cognitive similarities. Overlapping features between both disorders complicate differential diagnosis. We also investigated the prevalence and correlation of neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders among students in Uganda. Methods: In this cross-sectional study، 322 students aged 5-17 years participated in Waqisu، Uganda. We evaluated battery and psychiatric disorders (major depressive disorder (MDD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and substance use disorder (SUD)) using the parent version of the Child and Adolescent Symptoms Questionnaire 5 and the Self-Report 4R Youth Questionnaire. The aim of this study was to determine the neurocognitive impact of ADHD in children with learning disability and psychiatric disorders
  • Methods: This was a narrative review study conducted in 2023 by searching keywords such as neurocognitive, ADHD, psychiatric disorders, and non-invasive brain stimulation in reliable databases such as: Scopus, Elsevier, Web of Science, and PubMed. Finally, 15 articles were found and 10 articles were included in the study.
  • Results: According to the literature studies, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been highlighted as a powerful tool for promoting neuroplasticity and an attractive approach to support cognitive modification. Here we have a systematic review of 26 articles using NIBS to improve given the usefulness of NIBS, the results are promising but ambiguous. Twenty-three papers reported beneficial effects, but many of these effects were repeated only once or only to some extent, and some studies even reported harmful effects. In addition، most studies differed in at least one main aspect، NIBS was applied، questionnaires and cognitive tests performed or age group surveyed، and the sample size was mostly small. During acute depression, children and adults showed cognitive deficits that overlapped with some ADHD-related disorders. The findings of hospitalized patients، high-risk individuals and several prospective studies indicate that subsets of these common disorders، especially executive dysfunctions (selective attention، verbal fluency، working memory) and long-term memory problems، are markers of depression risk. We discuss whether and how these specific neurocognitive mechanisms may mediate growth pathways from ADHD to depression. If replicated by longitudinal studies، these findings may guide future prevention strategies.There was also a combination of findings from the individual study showing that there were deficits in working memory for late life ADHD and deficits in the areas of attention، memory، language and visual abilities for DLB. The results were limited by small samples and a lack of data in some cognitive domains.
  • Conclusion: Further studies are needed to investigate the potential of NIBS in modifying cognitive functions. Finally، we discuss potential warnings and future directions. We argue that if we address these challenges adequately, NIBS could be feasible, with potential benefits in the treatment of neurological disorders that could prove very beneficial.
  • Keywords: Neurocognitive, ADHD, Psychiatric Disorders and Non-invasive Brain Stimulation