minimal brain dysfunction
noun
: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Note: Minimal brain dysfunction is one of several former names originally used to describe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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“Minimal brain dysfunction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minimal%20brain%20dysfunction. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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minimal brain dysfunction
noun
: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Formerly called hyperactivity … or minimal brain dysfunction, ADHD first was described 100 years ago as a childhood disorder found mainly in boys. Revisions in the diagnostic construct have been made a number of times over the past century. The most important shift occurred in the 1970s, when the concept of attention dysfunction was introduced as the central defining feature, and the disorder was renamed accordingly.—
Larry J. Seidman et al., Psychiatric Clinics of North America
Larry J. Seidman et al., Psychiatric Clinics of North AmericaLove words? Need even more definitions?
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