r/skeptic • u/Budget_Shallan • 25d ago

đŸ’© Misinformation Neuroscientist podcaster with 20+ hours of ADHD content discovers it MIGHT be genetic "but there are too many variables to separate"!!!

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u/BalorNG 25d ago

Isn't adhd one of the more heritable disorders?

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u/Budget_Shallan 25d ago

As heritable as height!

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u/BioMed-R 25d ago

Heritability is a hoax metric.

There are Mendelian diseases – and there are noise-readers who run correlation across tens of thousands of genetic locations and still are only able to explain 10% of the prevalence of a disease.

Cystic fibrosis falls into the first category with a clear correspondence between CFTR and the pathophysiology.

ADHD falls into the latter.

Before the pandemic, we often discussed issues with heritability as a metric in this sub and these issues have been known for decades but behavioral geneticists don’t give a damn and that’s why their research never replicates. A huge embarrassment.

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u/BalorNG 25d ago

Schizophrenia is highly heritable, but also highly polygenic. The fact that there are no distinct "schizo genes" does not imply that genetics does not play a role - just way, way more complex ones that a handful of SNPs - up to and including topological transcription factors (DNA packing), other epigenetic factors, etc.

Most mental phenotypic traits are like that, not to mention how much of a role early environment plays in "generating brain structure from genetic "seed"" - brains are orders of magnitude more complex than "genetic blueprints", with multiple steps for something to "go wrong" along the way.

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u/ArcEngineAI 24d ago edited 24d ago

ADHD is known to be a wide net, this comparison is like if we studied cystic fibrosis as general “coughy lung” 💀. Adhd is a high order symptom not a pathology. A set of ADHD pathologys are 100% heritable.

The problem is blatant ignorance of people who don’t understand adhd is not a specific pathology.

Even for underlaying pathologies you see a distribution, adhd is a subjective experience constituting a “hoax” metric for observational study. Again, it’s high order. The reality is pathology can predict propensity but again, not cut and dry like classical single or otherwise low count locus disease such as CF.

You compare apples to oranges. I do get your message, though I believe perspective is an issue. ADHD is an umbrella, the vast majority of diagnosis could be handled though lifestyle without medical intervention, the wheels fall off the wagon when you hand out amphetamine for ADHD.

tell a crowd that their problems can be explained by disease and a little sympathomimetic pill can make it all go away, you’re gonna see a large set of that crowd fall in love with the drug and the identity. Of course it’s more nuanced, there are non addictive effective treatments. Red herring being that effective non-stimulant treatments are pleiotropic and show efficacy for elementary disorders like depression. If anything such cases indicate this adhd as a derivative of general depression. Extends to anxiety, extends to basic wellness.

I agree there are many confounders, at the end of the day I think the most glaring issue is that ADHD has never been a proper disease. it’s a scapegoat for everyone involved. note that I am not saying ADHD isn’t real or that people who experience extreme ADHD symptoms would not benefit from treatment. but again, ADHD itself is not a classical disorder but an umbrella category. we’re seeing that American youth face an ADHD pipeline.

If you give a kid an adderall,