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[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Doctors prescribe Ritalin to hyperactive kids to calm them down and increase their attention span. And college kids have taken to using Ritalin to concentrate when they hit the books. But it hasn’t been clear how the drug boosts focus. Now a paper in the journal Biological Psychiatry suggests how it might work.
But at high doses, the prefrontal cortex tuned out, and Ritalin’s effects were similar to those of other stimulants. The rats lost their cognitive edge and they became hyperactive, sniffing and licking repetitively. So Ritalin shows you can indeed have too much of a good thing—to the point of distraction.
—Christopher Intagliata
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8 Comments
Add CommentWhat about the effectiveness of "just another stimulant" at low doses?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBetter or worse than Ritalin?
And wouldn't "low dose" be highly variable among different kids at different times of day?
Not sure this tells us anything new.
Does anyone else see some irony in having this article on "60-Second Science," designed for distracted Americans who can't read more than a few paragraphs on any serious subject before they flit off to another site?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCan someone give me a quick summary for this article?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find it preferable to be hyperfocused on something enjoyable for 2 days straight, rather than forgoing the meds and being distracted by the status quo. It has also been my experience that Ritalin is not a consideration when you truly enjoy the company of another. ON and off the medication for 20 years, it remains an enigma, as does ADD which varies among the individual. Comorbidity and other meds taken simultaneously contribute
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisconsiderably to the total picture.
I'm sick of everyone looking for all the answers in neurology. To pay the children in this study the researchers probably gave them a choice of gift cards to mcdonalds, starbucks, or gamestop. well done everyone. turn off the tv and stop eating.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi Headmedicine, thanks for listening. Just a note, the study was conducted with rats, not children.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Neuroscientists dosed rats with Ritalin and had them perform the kind of working memory task ADHD patients have trouble with."
Someone wasn't paying attention...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm sick of people looking for societal answer to neurological problems...