ADHD

Meditation-based interventions such as mindfulness and yoga are commonly practiced in the general community to improve mental and physical health. Parents, teachers and healthcare providers are also increasingly using such interventions with children. This review examines the use of meditation-based interventions in the treatment of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Electronic databases searched included PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, and AMED.

BACKGROUND: The demand for clinically efficacious, safe, patient acceptable, and cost-effective forms of treatment for mental illness is growing. Several studies have demonstrated benefit from yoga in specific psychiatric symptoms and a general sense of well-being. OBJECTIVE: To systematically examine the evidence for efficacy of yoga in the treatment of selected major psychiatric disorders.

Meditation-based interventions such as mindfulness and yoga are commonly practiced in the general community to improve mental and physical health. Parents, teachers and healthcare providers are also increasingly using such interventions with children. This review examines the use of meditation-based interventions in the treatment of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Electronic databases searched included PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, and AMED.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) presents in childhood with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity and is associated with functional impairments. These children tend to display a variety of disruptive behaviors, which may worsen in adolescence. Teens with ADHD may show high levels of defiance, posing significant challenges for parents. Early efforts to understand parenting in the context of teen ADHD reveal high levels of parental stress and reactivity in response to the teen's ADHD symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness-based therapies (MBTs) have been shown to be efficacious in treating internally focused psychological disorders (e.g., depression); however, it is still unclear whether MBTs provide improved functioning and symptom relief for individuals with externalizing disorders, including ADHD. To clarify the literature on the effectiveness of MBTs in treating ADHD and to guide future research, an effect-size analysis was conducted.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with ADHD face significant neurodevelopmental hurdles with inattention and/or hyperactive/impulsive behavior through their life span. Mindfulness training may be one self-regulatory method for strengthening attentional processes (orienting, alerting, and executive attention). This review's goals are to (a) argue for the use of mindfulness training as an adjunct to evidence-based treatment for ADHD and (b) call for improving psychosocial intervention for ADHD within families by integrating mindfulness training with behavioral parent training.

TOPIC: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects more than 5 million American children; the likelihood of their parents experiencing stress is high, which may lead to negative outcomes. Mindful parenting is a parent training modality that teaches compassion, listening, and creative engagement with one's child, and has been shown to be effective in decreasing levels of parental stress.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Bacopa monnieri has a long history in Ayurvedic medicine for neurological and behavioral defects. To assess its efficacy in improving cognitive function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, Cochrane Central of clinical trial, WHO registry, Thai Medical Index, Index Medicus Siriraj library and www.clinicaltrial.gov were searched from the inception date of each database to June 2013 using scientific and common synonyms of Bacopa monnieri, cognitive performance or memory.

OBJECTIVES: Clinicians utilise critical research to advance their knowledge when prescribing standard and alternative therapies for developmental disorders. Recent research has reported that the traditional Ayurvedic medicine Bacopa monnieri may improve cognitive outcomes in adult populations; however, few studies have investigated its benefits in younger cohorts. The aim of the current review is to systematically assess and critically summarize clinical trial outcomes and safety of Bacopa and its effects on the cognition and behaviour in children and adolescents.

In the 1950's, many experts believed hyperkinesis was a neurotic reaction to inner conflicts arising from early family experiences. In the 1990's, many experts believed ADHD to be 'genetic' (without a mechanistic explanation of what that meant). Both views appear naÔve today in a scientific world grappling with the complexity of highly plastic gene expression, gene x environment interplay, and epigenetic, context-dependent emergence of psychopathology.