By: Dr. Fabiano de Abreu Agrela Rodrigues – post-PhD in Neuroscience and specialist in behavioral genomics
Initial Neuroscientific Premise
The misinterpretation of intelligence in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), especially in cases of double exceptionality, results from a methodological and functional flaw in the analysis of cognitive performance: the reading of expressive behavior is taken as a direct reflection of intellectual capacity, without considering the specific failure of working memory and its implications in the neural circuits of logical integration.
Neurobiological and Genomic Argument
Working memory, mediated primarily by connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9/46), the posterior parietal cortex and structures such as the thalamus and the caudate nucleus, performs the executive function of maintaining, updating and manipulating information in real time. In individuals with ADHD, there is clear evidence of dysfunction in this circuitry, mainly through compromised dopaminergic modulation (Volkow et al., 2009, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09040472), which directly impacts the ability to hold and process data prior to a response.
Not only that, recent genomic studies, including those described in the Genetic Intelligence Project (GIP), show that polymorphic variants in genes such as SNAP25, DRD4, DAT1 and COMT impact both synaptic efficiency and dopaminergic modulation in the prefrontal cortex (GIP, 2025; see also Davis et al., 2010, DOI: 10.1007/s10519-010-9350-4). This genetic predisposition contributes to impulsive hyperreactivity and an anticipatory cognitive style, impairing the deep and logical processing that characterizes the response considered “intelligent” according to normative standards.
Cognitive and Interpretative Consequence
The anticipation of the response, marked by spontaneous impulsivity, interrupts the flow of information through working memory, which should function as an integration interface between short- and long-term memory. This generates rapid but superficial responses, without passing through the frontoparietal network of logical reasoning. The result is a verbal or behavioral emission that appears disorganized or low in intelligence, when in fact it is an “operational deviation” in the synaptic hierarchy, not in the basal intellectual capacity.
As demonstrated in the DWRI (Developmental Wide Regions of Intellectual Interference) model, intelligence should be understood as a dynamic interaction between multiple neural systems – including default-mode networks, limbic circuitry, and associative cortex – and not as a linear construct based on immediate performance (RODRIGUES, 2023).
Conclusion: Fallacy of Superficial Interpretation
Therefore, what is perceived as “less intelligent responses” in ADHD subjects with high intellectual capacity does not reflect an intelligence deficit, but rather a failure in the mediation of the response by working memory, especially when there is impulsivity not inhibited by the anterior cingulate or orbitofrontal cortex. This anticipation compromises logic, not basal cognition. Understanding this architecture allows us to reclassify these individuals not as limited, but as subjects with difficult-to-read intelligence.
Scientific References
RODRIGUES, Fabiano de Abreu Agrela. Neurobiology and Foundations of Intelligence DWRI. 2023.
DAVIS, OSP et al. A Three-Stage Genome-Wide Association Study of General Cognitive Ability. Behavior Genetics, 40, 759–767, 2010. DOI: 10.1007/s10519-010-9350-4.
VOLKOW, ND et al. Evaluating Dopamine Reward Pathway in ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166(8), 2009. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09040472.
Dr. Fabiano de Abreu Agrela Rodrigues MRSB holds a post-PhD in Neuroscience and is an elected member of Sigma Xi – The Scientific Research Honor Society (more than 200 members of Sigma Xi have received the Nobel Prize), as well as being a member of the Society for Neuroscience in the United States, the Royal Society of Biology and The Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom, the European Society of Human Genetics in Vienna, Austria, and the APA – American Philosophical Association in the United States. He holds a Master’s degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Biology. He is also a Technologist in Anthropology and Philosophy, with several national and international degrees in Neuroscience and Neuropsychology. Dr. Fabiano is a member of prestigious high IQ societies, including Mensa International, Intertel, ISPE High IQ Society, Triple Nine Society, ISI-Society, and HELLIQ Society High IQ. He is the author of more than 300 scientific studies and 30 books. He is currently a visiting professor at PUCRS in Brazil, UNIFRANZ in Bolivia and Santander in Mexico. He also serves as Director of CPAH – Centro de Pesquisa e Análises Heráclito and is the creator of the GIP project, which estimates IQ through the analysis of genetic intelligence. Dr. Fabiano is also a registered journalist, having his name included in the book of records for achieving four records, one of which is for being the greatest creator of characters in the history of the press.