Neurobiological and psychophysiological correlates of emotional dysregulation in ADHD patients.

Emotional dysregulation in ADHD patients has become an important issue in recent years. Dysfunctions especially in brain regions related to emotional processing as well as psychophysiological reactions have been reported. This review includes functional MRI, event-related potentials as well as emotion-modulated startle studies in ADHD patients. It reflects a selective review of the authors with no claim of completeness. Changes in the processing of positive stimuli, with reduced brain activity in the amygdala, in the ventral striatum and reduced EEG potentials were found. The relevance of the observed dysregulation in emotional processing and psychophysiological reactions with regard to theoretical constructs of ADHD-specific emotional dysregulation versus comorbidity will be discussed.