ADHD, Drive and Motivation

Dopamine is a critical neurotransmitter that plays a pivotal role in shaping our drive and motivation. Contrary to popular belief, the core function of dopamine isn’t about our reward system — instead, it is what compels us to pursue goals and outcomes, whether an achievement that takes years of consistent pursuit or the completion of smaller goals in the short-term, like answering emails and checking off a to-do list.

In an individual with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), the brain chemistry is altered with lower levels of dopamine and dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway. This leads to a distinctive motivation deficit manifesting the symptoms of ADHD including procrastination, impulsivity, difficulty with time management, and challenges in executing long-term goals. The ADHD brain does not experience permanent lack of motivation or symptoms of inattention, but instead generates uneven focus where someone might struggle with one particular task but exhibit hyperfocus on another.

Regardless of whether one has ADHD or not, our brains contain the same neural networks and similar neural pathways. How the brain processes and uses dopamine is critical to both the difficulties faced by those with ADHD and the common human experience of struggling to channel drive and intrinsic motivation to complete tasks effectively in school, work and life.

By exploring the linkages between ADHD, dopamine, and motivation, we aim to make these invisible processes more tangible, providing you resources to better align your behaviors with your goals.