It is well known that brain neuroplasticity stems from environmental stimulation, so a lack of stimulation logically leads to a deficit as a consequence of brain hypofunctionality. In the case of attention deficit disorder (ADD-ADHD), there is hypofunctionality of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive function: how to plan an action, initiate it, regulate whether it is being done well or poorly, notice errors and correct them, see if a plan is being followed, avoid distractions from irrelevant stimuli, reject interferences, be flexible if circumstances change, and be able to finish an initiated action. Therefore, when we observe children with ADD-ADHD, we detect that they make errors in these areas and present difficulties when performing most of these actions.
Recent studies in neuroeducation have detected that the parietal lobe, which plays a role in sensory information processing, and the cerebellum, associated with movement, may also be involved in ADHD.
For its part, dopamine contributes to attention and concentration. Sight triggers a secretion of dopamine that aids concentration and attention. A PET study revealed that in adults with ADHD, dopamine activity was depressed in the caudate and limbic regions, which may contribute to ADD-ADHD.
However, in the study carried out by Soria-Claros, Serrano-Marugán, Quintero and Ortiz (2016), it was found that regular tactile stimulation allows a greater number of synaptic connections in parieto-occipital areas, especially in early ages where parieto-occipital activity is much greater than in adults, which can improve ADHD symptoms.
In the study, a program of passive tactile stimulation with systematic, ordered, and organized repetition of tactile stimuli was applied to students with ADD-ADHD, with the aim of evaluating whether it increased parietal brain plasticity, responsible for posterior cortical attention.
Two groups of children were used: the control group and the experimental group, to whom evoked potentials were applied, i.e., specific markers of neuronal activation underlying different cognitive tasks mainly related to attention, selection, and working memory processes.
Mainly, the N200 wave was used, which is a negative wave appearing around 200 milliseconds and is associated with changes in the stimulus environment, interpreted as an automatic filtering stage for selective attention to novelty. Also used was the P300 wave, a positive wave occurring around 300 milliseconds after stimulus onset, associated with working memory and attention, as well as decision-making or cognitive closure processes.
The research results indicated a substantial improvement in the experimental group at the end of the study, which points to the effect of stimulation throughout the school year on attentional processes of response selection and executive control underlying the N200 and P300 waves. The most significant differences between the beginning and end of the study in the localization of N200 wave sources were found only within the experimental group during tactile stimulation in broad posterior temporal, parietal, and occipital cortical areas; while for the P300 wave, they were found in broad premotor and parietal cortical areas.
The improvement in attentional processes and the latency of the N200 and P300 waves in the experimental group aligns with other research that justifies a significant neurophysiological improvement from sensory and cognitive training in cortical plasticity and in the improvement of learning and memory.
In this sense, the brain stimulated through enriched environments with multiple and varied stimulations develops much more and improves in different cognitive parameters, as well as certain brain circuits associated with attentional processes if passive tactile stimulation is used, which favors the brain neuroplasticity of posterior cortical areas. The training of teachers in neuroeducation allows the optimization of capacities for children with and without learning disorders.