The Cerebellum and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder A Case Study of a Cerebellar Chiari 1 Malformation

Abstract

The cerebellum is the most consistently implicated and the most robustly deviant brain structure in the pathophysiology of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Its role in the neurobiology of ADHD is also buttressed by many recent ana-tomical, functional neuroimaging, and human lesion studies that have implicated it in the neural network that mediates selective attention. This article may add to the evidence for the role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of ADHD by presenting a case history of a young female adult with a cerebellar disorder called a Chiari Malformation type 1. She developed a severe impairment in selective attention, which resulted in an adult onset of ADHD. This case study provides a unique exploration of the pathophysiology of ADHD because all prior clinical findings from human lesion studies implicating the in-volvement of the cerebellum in the neural circuit for selective attention have overlooked the relevance of Chiari Malformation type 1.