The ADHD-Dopamine Myth: What Motivation Science Gets Wrong
And in ADHD Hunter brains, the dopamine system doesn’t fire the same way as it does for Farmers
“He just doesn’t care.”
“She’s lazy.”
“If only they’d try harder.”
Those are the phrases we hear again and again about people with ADHD. And they’re dead wrong. ADHD isn’t about a lack of effort. It’s about a brain wired differently—especially when it comes to motivation.
For decades, science has known that dopamine plays a central role in attention and goal-directed behavior. Dopamine is the brain’s currency of motivation, the chemical that tells us what matters. And in ADHD Hunter brains, the dopamine system doesn’t fire the same way as it does for Farmers.
That doesn’t mean ADHD folks don’t care. It means we care differently. We’re not motivated by vague future rewards. We’re wired to act in the now.
The Now vs. The Later
In hunter-gatherer societies, delayed gratification wasn’t a virtue—it was a risk. If you saw berries, you ate them. If you saw danger, you reacted. Hesitation could be fatal. This is the evolutionary root of the ADHD brain: fast, reactive, tuned to immediate feedback.
The modern world, especially the school and corporate systems, is structured around delayed rewards. Study hard now so you can go to college. Work long hours now so you can retire comfortably. But for many with ADHD, those long-term incentives don’t activate the motivation centers of the brain the same way they do for others.
Interest-Based Nervous Systems
Dr. William Dodson, a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD, coined the term “interest-based nervous system” to describe how people with ADHD function. Unlike the neurotypical brain, which can sustain attention based on importance or future consequences, the ADHD brain is fueled by interest, challenge, novelty, or urgency.
Give a kid with ADHD a workbook? They zone out. Give them a timed scavenger hunt? They’re all in. It’s not about discipline. It’s about wiring.
That’s why so many of us can hyperfocus on a video game or a creative project, yet completely forget to return a phone call. The task wasn’t engaging enough to light up the dopamine system. It’s not a character flaw. It’s brain chemistry.
The Medication Misunderstanding
Stimulant medications like methylphenidate (Ritalin) and amphetamine-based (Adderall) treatments work—when they do work—because they increase the availability of dopamine in the brain. They don’t make a person smarter or more disciplined. They make tasks feel more immediately engaging, more doable. They bridge the gap between intent and action.
But too often, medication is seen as a moral fix rather than a neurological support. Parents are told their child is finally “behaving.” Teachers praise compliance. But the goal shouldn’t be obedience: It should be understanding.
The Burnout Loop
Because we live in a world that doesn’t understand this, many ADHD Hunters live in a cycle of shame and failure. We can ace a test we studied for at the last minute, but fail an assignment that required weeks of incremental effort. We get labeled inconsistent, unreliable.
So we try harder. We push through. We mask. Until we burn out. The self-criticism becomes brutal. Why can I write a novel in three days but can’t mail a letter?
The answer is in the dopamine system. When the brain doesn’t get the chemical reward it expects from an action, it drops the task. No reward, no motivation. It’s not a moral issue. It’s a mismatch.
Rethinking Motivation
The solution isn’t to scold or shame. It’s to restructure tasks and environments. Break work into short, high-stakes sprints. Use timers, competition, novelty. Give real-time feedback. Tap into passion. ADHD Hunters thrive in crisis mode not because we like chaos, but because the urgency finally makes the task feel real.
This is why so many with ADHD end up as paramedics, journalists, entrepreneurs, cops, explorers—jobs with immediate feedback, fast decisions, constant motion. These jobs work with our wiring, not against it.
It’s Time to Ditch the Myths
The dopamine difference doesn’t make us lazy. It makes us different. The kid who won’t do their homework might one day start a company. The adult who can’t handle paperwork might save a life in an emergency. The trick is to stop asking them to act like Farmers and start building spaces where Hunters can thrive.
Let’s stop blaming people with ADHD for their wiring. Let’s understand it, honor it, and design for it. Because once we do, we’ll unlock a world of talent that’s been hiding in plain sight.
Hi All: Thom - "right on." (A phrase that gives away my age. Isaac Hayes said it best.) I have been on the antistigma road re so-called ADHD for 20 years. (Almost as long as Hartmann.. smile)
It is a tough fight. I wrote a book in 2013 in which I used about half of its contents to report my conclusions from hundreds of client evaluations and followups, and from 25,000 pages of primary literature. I concluded that what we currently call ADHD is clearly not a disorder. Now, 12 years later, the science I reported then has further confirmed my "take" on ADHD. I describe in detail why logic cannot lead anywhere else but "not a disorder."
I also use half of the book to share the data at that time which clearly, by a preponderance of the evidence, showed a huge upside to the so-called ADHD brainset.
In my 2013 book, I quote Dr. Dodson and Dr. Larry Silver:
"As noted in ADHD Sleep Problems: Causes and Tips to Rest Better Tonight!, Dr. William Dodson, M.D. states "If the patient spends hours a night with thoughts bouncing and his body tossing, this is robably a manifestation of ADHD. The best treatment is a dose of stimulant-class medication 45 minutes before bedtime."
"Dr. Larry Silver, M.D., notes that 'Some children and teens with ADHD have difficulty going to sleep at night because they cannot turn their head off. They are fidgety and active in bed. They hear every sound in the house and cannot ignore the sounds.'" According to Silver, medications like Ritalin, Dexedrine, or Adderall at night may help — 'Yes, everyone thinks these medications cause sleep problems. However, when ADHD prevents you from going to sleep, being on these medications counteracts those symptoms.'"
Those two docs were among the few, including me, who got it. The rest, including every pharmacist I ever met, had it all wrong. I ended up writing a 15 page educational handout for my clients to gift to their pharmacists. In my 2013 book (free download at my substack), I address the many myths about ADHD that have been debunked by research literature.
I have written in my book and in several columns over the years calling for changes in language that is badly needed. Calling them stimulants is tantamount to calling ibuprofen "kidney damage pills." In other words, an entire category of meds is being named for the side-effects they produce. The goal of stimulants, when used, and when adjusted, is to avoid stimulation. Stimulation is a side effect, not the actual goal which is to produce a certain balanced effect. When these "stimulants" were first categorized the scientific community knew very little about dopamine. The category was created in the midst of ignorance and described the only "effects" that were observable at that time -- "general stimulation not unlike caffeine stimulation."
Above optimal dopamine is as bad as below optimal. More is not better. "Stimulant" is a very old, incorrect term that not only misleads, but stigmatizes meds, at the same time acting as advertising for diversion. Unforgivably unscientific. I advocate for using scientific terms to describe these meds, which would be "dopamine enhancers," or even more technical "dopamine/norepinephrine enhancers."
I thank Thom Hartmann for his unstoppable efforts to get the message out about the evolutionary mismatch going on with the ADHD brainset. Context matters. Some things are good in some situations, and, at the same time cannot be so great in other situations. (Tell Thom to read my book)
Take care, Ron
I do still wonder about this, dopamine-wise. I'm not sure she's "fashionable" any more, but back in the day when i was trying to figure things out my husband was listening to San Francisco NPR radio all day long, and Julia Ross would come on. So, she had a book. And in that book was observation that amino acids tyrosine and/or phenylalanine were dopamine precursors. And that dietary sources for such were meat and cheese. Well, there happened to be a family joke anecdote about me in my little high-chair, when the parents cut a little piece off of the (frugal) chuck steak for the baby, baby wanted more MEAT! Cheese good too. Neanderthal says ugh!