Traditional Scales Diagnosis and Endophenotypes in Attentional Deficits Disorders: Are We on the Right Track?

Abstract

The concept of ADHD has changed widely through the history of mental health classification manuals. In the past three decades, the number of ADHD diagnoses has hugely increased worldwide. One of the reasons to explain this fact could be the lack of precision, differentiation and adjust of the criteria and indicators of this disease. Research has detected as well, some subjectivity bias in the traditional assessment (based in questionnaires and behavioral scales), which is affecting to the precision in the diagnose and to the further adjustment to the treatment. In this regard, these diagnoses are based in symptoms but not in etiology of the disorder. Therefore, different disorders will share the same treatment, regardless etiology. A different approach is based on the study of vulnerable traits associated with impulsivity and attentional deficit. In a quantitative fashion; these traits could be used to define a specific endophenotype. This view would allow us a more precise medical/psychological assessment focus on patient along the life spam, avoiding a diagnostic based on the number of symptoms. Here, we discuss about the differences between traditional diagnosis scales and the possibilities to find endophenotypes in order to address a specific treatment.