An interactive 3D model showing how ADHD affects the brain — and how the same brain changes across different states.

How to Use This Tool

🧠 Explore the brain
On desktop, click and drag to rotate the 3D brain and scroll to zoom in or out. On mobile, swipe to rotate and pinch to zoom. You'll see six colour-coded regions, each representing a key area affected by ADHD.

🔵 Tap a brain region
Click or tap any of the six regions (using the menu on the left, or the buttons at the bottom on mobile) to learn what that area does, how it functions differently in ADHD, and the real-world impact — on behaviour, emotions, thinking, relationships, and the body.

🎚️ Move the state slider
The slider at the top lets you shift between three brain states: Overwhelmed, Everyday, and In Flow. Watch how the brain physically changes — regions grow or shrink, glow brighter or dimmer, and the neural pathways speed up or slow down. The information panel updates too, so you can read about what's happening neurologically in each state.

⚖️ Compare view
Click "Compare" in the top right to see a side-by-side breakdown of how the neurotypical brain and the ADHD brain differ across all six regions.

What This Tool Shows

ADHD is not a character flaw, a lack of willpower, or a choice. It is a neurological difference that affects how the brain regulates attention, motivation, emotion, and time. This tool is designed to help you see and understand what is happening inside the ADHD brain.

The six brain regions you can explore:

● Prefrontal Cortex — The brain's "CEO." Responsible for planning, decision-making, impulse control, and working memory. In ADHD, this region is underactive and matures up to 3–5 years later than in neurotypical brains.

● Dopamine & Norepinephrine Pathways — The brain's motivation and alertness system. In ADHD, dopamine is cleared too quickly from synapses, creating an "interest-based nervous system" that only fully engages with tasks that are novel, urgent, or personally meaningful.

● Amygdala & Limbic System — The brain's emotional alarm system. In ADHD, weakened connections to the prefrontal cortex mean emotions arrive faster, hit harder, and take longer to recover from. This is why rejection sensitivity and frustration intolerance are so common.

● Default Mode Network — The brain's "screensaver." In ADHD, it doesn't switch off properly during tasks, causing mind-wandering, daydreaming, and the "busy mind" that many people describe.

● Reward System — The brain's motivation circuit. In ADHD, distant rewards feel almost invisible, which is why deadlines, urgency, and last-minute pressure often become the only reliable motivators.

● Cerebellum & Timing — The brain's internal clock. In ADHD, time perception is impaired — leading to chronic lateness, difficulty estimating how long things take, and what's often called "time blindness."

The three brain states:

● Overwhelmed — When stress, sensory overload, or emotional flooding push the brain into crisis mode. The prefrontal cortex goes offline, the amygdala takes over, and the person may experience shutdown, panic, or reactive behaviour.

● Everyday — The typical ADHD baseline. Some regions underperforming, some compensating. This is the state most people with ADHD navigate daily — capable but inconsistent, with effort often invisible to others.

● In Flow — What happens during deeply engaging tasks, after exercise, during mindfulness, or with effective support. The prefrontal cortex comes online, emotions regulate, the "busy mind" quietens, and the person can access the full capability of their brain.

Important: ADHD is not a fixed state of deficit. As you can see by moving the slider, the same brain is capable of extraordinary focus, creativity, and performance when the right conditions are in place. Understanding your neurology is the first step toward building those conditions.