Rethinking ADHD From Brain to Culture

The diagnosis of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) has reached epidemic proportions across many countries, having a large impact on how childhood is conceived and understood. Despite this growth, fundamental questions about the nature and meaning of ADHD remain.

SAMI TIMIMI is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist in the National Health Service in Lincolnshire and a visiting Professor at Lincoln University, UK. He writes from a critical psychiatry perspective on topics relating to child and adolescent mental health and has published articles on many topics including eating disorders, psychotherapy, behavioural disorders and cross-cultural psychiatry. He has authored three books, Pathological Child Psychiatry and the Medicalization of Childhood, published by Brunner-Routledge in 2002; Naughty Boys: Anti-Social Behaviour, ADHD and the Role of Culture, published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2005; Mis-Uunderstanding ADHD: The Complete Guide for Parents to Alternatives to Drugs, published in 2007, and has co-edited with Dr Begum Maitra, Critical Voices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health published by Free Association books in 2006.

JONATHAN LEO, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Neuroanatomy at Lincoln Memorial Univeristy. He has published numerous articles about the biological theories of mental health, covering topics such as the genetic basis of schizophrenia, the serotonin theory of depression, the paediatric trials of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and ADHD. His articles have been published in Society, Skeptic, and The Journal of Mind and Behavior. He is the past Editor-in-Chief of Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry. His most recent article, co-authored with Jeff Lacasse, was about the disconnect between the scientific literature and the popular advertisements regarding serotonin and depression. The paper was published in The Public Library of Science (PLoS) and was subsequently covered by numerous media outlets including WebMD, Nature, Forbes, The Scientist, and the Wall Street Journal.