In adults with ADHD, dopamine D2/D3 receptor and DAT availability in the reward pathway correlate positively with trait motivation¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3·i3large
Currency · newest study 2011 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2016: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i3 In ADHD participants, Achievement scale scores correlated significantly with D2/D3 receptor availability in accumbens (r=0.39, p<0.008) and midbrain (r=0.41, p<0.005) and with DAT availability in accumbens (r=0.35, p<0.02). → Volkow ND 2011
q3 i? In controls, neither correlation was significant, indicating the association is specific to the ADHD group. → Volkow ND 2011
Evidence¶
Volkow ND 2011¶
Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, Kollins SH, Wigal TL, Telang F, Fowler JS, Goldstein RZ, Klein N, Logan J, Wong C, Swanson JM. (2011). Motivation Deficit in ADHD is Associated with Dysfunction of the Dopamine Reward Pathway. Molecular Psychiatry 16(11). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2010.97
q3 · i3 · associational · r2
Pearson correlation analysis of PET measures against MPQ Achievement scores in the ADHD group; accumbens D2/D3 "r=0.39, p<0.008" and DAT "r=0.35, p < 0.02" were significant, while control-group correlations were not. Midbrain D2/D3 was also significant in ADHD (r=0.41, p<0.005).
"Separate group analyses showed the correlation was significant for ADHD participants for both D2/D3 receptors (r=0.39, p<0.008) and DAT (r=0.35, p < 0.02), but not for either in the control participants (see Figure 1)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- ADHD adults show lower D2/D3 receptor and DAT availability in nucleus accumbens and midbrain than controls — related
- Lower trait motivation scores in ADHD adults are associated with more severe inattention symptoms, but not hyperactivity — related
- Positive Emotionality correlates with midbrain D2/D3 receptor availability in ADHD adults, while Negative Emotionality and Constraint do not — related
- Dopamine neurons treat informational reward like primary reward, and OFC encodes information value separately from reward size — related
- Intrinsic motivation during idea generation does not differ between adults with ADHD and controls — related
- Adults with ADHD score lower on the MPQ Achievement scale, a surrogate trait measure of motivation, than controls — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
da-reward-pathway-correlates-trait-motivation-adhd |
title |
In adults with ADHD, dopamine D2/D3 receptor and DAT availability in the reward pathway correlate positively with trait motivation |
description |
In adults with ADHD, dopamine D2/D3 receptor and DAT availability in the reward pathway correlate positively with trait motivation |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2011 |
recheck_by |
2016 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — volkow-nd-2011 |
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