Sonia Gray

So why the focus on fidgeting in particular?

Well, we know that ADHD brains tend to be underactive in the focus and decision-making areas of the brain.

The lead in the study, Professor Justin Fernandes, is a bioengineer, and he had noticed that people with ADHD have a need to move.

Hand tapping, hair twirling, foot twitching, pen clicking.

He wondered whether there was a connection.

Was the fidgeting serving a purpose, a purpose greater than just mere distraction?

And what they found was striking.

The scanner records brain activity so frequently that scientists can see the rapid split-second conversations happening between different brain networks.

And to capture the dynamic resting state, all the person with the brain has to do is lie still and let their mind wander.

So to break it down, what they're measuring is changes in blood flow as different parts of the brain become more or less active.

And by capturing those images over time, they can see the brain shifting between states, like mind wandering to focused attention to movement.

And the big takeaway from this is that movement is the ADHD brain's stillness.

They need to move, even slightly, to help kick that prefrontal cortex into gear.

But it's the opposite if you don't have ADHD.

That movement, the finger tapping, it's distracting.

The goal of this is to eventually use these scans to help diagnose ADHD.

And I'm wondering whether Paul thinks this is possible.

Paul Condren has ADHD himself, as does his daughter.

So this work has meant a lot to him personally.

But he says the most rewarding part is seeing the impact the study has already had on the Tairawhiti community.