Public Lecture: Peter Killeen, Arizona State University and Moore Institute Visiting Fellow: What is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and where does it come from?

What is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and where does it come from?

The simplest definition of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) consists of a list of the typical symptoms. Professor Killeen provides a more comprehensive definition that informs us of the events that trigger ADHD in both its acute and chronic manifestations; the neurobiology that underlies it; and the evolutionary forces that have kept it in the germ line of our species. These factors are organized in terms of Aristotle’s four kinds of “causes,” or explanations: formal, efficient, material, and final. By providing this more complete picture of the syndrome, we gain a deeper understanding and the potential to identify novel approaches to accommodate and remediate the behavior of people with ADHD.

Professor Peter Killeen is currently a visiting fellow at the Moore Institute in NUI Galway. He is emeritus professor of psychology at Arizona State University, and has also been visiting scholar at the University of Texas, Cambridge University, and the Centre for Advanced Study, Oslo.

Professor Killeen has made landmark contributions to a remarkable number of fields in the behavioral sciences, including the experimental study of learning, decision-making, timing and memory. His major work includes the development of incentive theory, culminating in the mathematical principles of reinforcement (Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 1994), and the behavioral theory of timing (Psychological Review, 1988). He also developed a novel statistical technique (pRep) that was adopted by Psychological Science, one of the foremost journals in psychology. Professor Killeen’s quantitative and conceptual developments have enriched psychology and the world beyond.