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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Dec 22, 2015; 5(4): 379-386
Published online Dec 22, 2015. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i4.379
Who says this is a modern disorder? The early history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Jose Martinez-Badía, Jose Martinez-Raga
Jose Martinez-Badía, Facultad de Historia, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Jose Martinez-Raga, Teaching Unit of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, University of Valencia, University Hospital Doctor Peset, and University CEU Cardenal Herrera, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Author contributions: Martinez-Badía J has contributed substantially to the conception and design of the study, acquisition of data from historical sources, drafting the article, and final approval of the manuscript; Martinez-Raga J has contributed substantially to the conception and design of the study, acquisition of data from medical sources, drafting the article, and final approval of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Martinez-Badía J reports no conflict of interest. Martinez-Raga J has received fees for serving as a speaker and as an advisory board member for Janssen, Shire, Juste, and Rovi Pharmaceuticals. No sources of funding were used in the preparation, review or approval of this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Jose Martinez-Raga, MD, PhD, Teaching Unit of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, University Hospital Dr. Peset, Avda. Gaspar Aguilar 90, 46010 Valencia, Spain. martinez_josrag@gva.es
Telephone: +34-96-1622328 Fax: +34-96-1622328
Received: September 2, 2015
Peer-review started: September 8, 2015
First decision: October 16, 2015
Revised: October 21, 2015
Accepted: December 9, 2015
Article in press: December 11, 2015
Published online: December 22, 2015
Processing time: 107 Days and 18.2 Hours
Abstract

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex, heterogeneous and multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Although the first clinical description of a constellation of symptoms highly resembling to what currently could be diagnosed as ADHD is generally attributed to George F Still in 1902, there are scattered but significant published historical medical, scientific and non-scientific reports, much prior to Still’s lectures, of what is currently conceptualized as ADHD. The present report aimed at exploring the early history of ADHD, prior to the 20th century in the medical literature and in other historical sources, to provide clinicians, researchers and other professionals with a better understanding of the roots and current conceptualization of this disorder. It is possible to find clues and highly suggestive descriptions of individuals presenting symptoms resembling what is currently defined as ADHD in the literature, in paintings or in the Bible. However, the earliest medical reports of individuals with abnormal degrees of inattention, distractibility and overactivity date from the last quarter of the 18th century, included in two of the first textbooks specifically on the subject of mental diseases, published by the German Melchior Adam Weikard and the Scottish Sir Alexander Crichton. During the 19th century some eminent physicians from Germany, France or Great Britain, such as Charles West, Thomas C Albutt, Thomas S Clouston, William W, Ireland, John Haslam, Heinrich Neumann, or Désiré-Magloire Bourneville, among others provided clinical depictions of patients that most likely presently would be diagnosed as having ADHD. Whilst some of the children described by Still and his predecessors may have suffered from a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders, many of these patients showed clear symptoms of ADHD and may present with comorbid disorders, as it is commonly the case in clinical practice.

Keywords: Attention-deficit disorder; Hyperactivity; Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; Hyperkinetic disorders; History; Concept; 18th century history; 19th century history

Core tip: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder in children and in adults. Although the conceptualization and diagnosis of this disorder is often controversial it is not a modern invention. There are significant published historical medical, and non-scientific reports of individuals with symptoms of inattention, distractibility and over-activity, prior to the 20th century, since the last quarter of the 18th century. The present paper explores the early history of ADHD in the medical literature and in other historical sources, to gain better understanding of the roots and evolution of the conceptualization of this disorder.