“In the New York Time’s “Have We Been Thinking About ADHD All Wrong?” Paul Tough (2025) critically examines prevailing assumptions about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), highlighting a widening gap between scientific understanding and clinical practice. We review the strengths and limitations of EEG biomarkers, and conclude that several (e.g., event-related potentials and refractory case biomarkers) are promising and shouldn’t be summarily dismissed.
Increasing ADHD Diagnoses and Concerns about Overdiagnosis
The article details the dramatic increase in ADHD diagnoses over recent decades, prompting significant debate regarding potential overdiagnosis. Central to this discussion is the influential Multimodal Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA) study, which initially indicated significant short-term benefits from stimulant medications but later revealed no long-term advantages compared to non-medicated groups (Swanson et al., 2017).”