96. When ADHD Makes You Go Blank

Picture this: you’re actively working on something that requires a lot of attention (e.g., homework, an assignment at work, an e-mail to a boss who requires communication that is somehow both succinct and robust, etc.). But then, all of a sudden – whoosh – your mind goes blank. No thoughts. Just blank. It would be a real Zen sound of one-hand clapping moment if the timing wasn’t so inconveniant. Because, eventually, you snap back to attention. You shake your head, bewildered by the experience, and upset that you allowed yourself to lose focus again.

But what if it wasn’t entirely up to you whether you lost focus or not? In this week’s episode, Marcus and Esme review two recent studies that suggest: a) those moments where we lose focus, trail off in thought, or just go blank are a product of naturally occurring phenomena in our brains; and b) there are structural differences in our brains that differentiate our experiences from those of neurotypical people. What does it all mean? Well, maybe we can start by being a little kinder to ourselves.

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Sources for this episode include:

• Pinggal, Elaine, et al. “Sleep-like Slow Waves During Wakefulness Mediate Attention and Vigilance Difficulties in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Neuroscience, 16 Mar. 2026, doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1694-25.2025.
• Currie, Jake. “Adults With ADHD Experience Sleep-Like Brain Waves While Awake.” Nautilus, 18 Mar. 2026, https://nautil.us/adults-with-adhd-experience-sleep-like-brain-waves-while-awake-1279024.
• Pan N, Long Y, Qin K, et al. Mapping ADHD Heterogeneity and Biotypes by Topological Deviations in Morphometric Similarity Networks. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online February 25, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2026.0001
• Bradshaw, Helen. “There Might Be 3 Different Types of ADHD, New Brain Study Suggests.” National Geographic, 3 Mar. 2026, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/adhd-brain-study-three-subtypes.

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