Revealing the Source of Ritalin’s Brain Boosting Benefits

by adhdstaff on

IN THE NEWS

Monday, March 08, 2010 by Emily Singer

The ADHD drug, Ritalin, improves attention by enhancing neural plasticity.

New research in animals sheds light on how Ritalin, the stimulant drug prescribed to millions of children each year in the United States for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sheds light on how the drug works. The molecule appears to boost both attention and enhance the speed of learning by increasing the activity of the chemical messenger dopamine, according to new research inNature Neuroscience.

Rats given Ritalin were able to more quickly learn that a combination of signals–a flash of light and sound–meant they could get a sugar water reward. But if the rats were also given a drug to block one type of dopamine receptor, the effect was lost. Treated animals also focused more intently on the task at hand, engaging in less unrelated behavior. Another drug, designed to block a second type of dopamine receptor, blocked Ritalin’s ability to increase focus.

Researchers also found that drug-treated animals had enhanced neural plasticity, or changes in strength of the connections between nerve cells. The ability of our neural circuits to change strength in response to new information underlies our ability to learn.

“Since we now know that Ritalin improves behavior through two specific types of neurotransmitter receptors, the finding could help in the development of better targeted drugs, with fewer side effects, to increase focus and learning,” said Antonello Bonci, MD, principal investigator at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center and professor of neurology at UCSF, in a statement from the university. The Gallo Center is affiliated with the UCSF Department of Neurology.

While Ritalin is mostly prescribed for children with ADHD, it also boosts cognitive function in healthy people. A number of studies suggest that a growing number of healthy adults and teens are taking Ritalin and similar drugs to aid in studying or work performance.

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MARIJUANA LINKED TO TESTICULAR CANCER

by Sarah A. Ferman, LMFT, PCC, MBA on

IN THE NEWS

Young men with early or heavy use of Marijuana appear to have a 70% greater risk of Testicular Cancer.  This risk is even higher the younger the age of first use.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research center in Seattle found an association with Nonseminoma, a fast growing and aggressive subtype of testicular cancer.  Of all testicular cancer, 40% is Nonseminoma and the rest are slower growing.

It appears that hormonal changes during puberty make young men more vulnerable.  The findings were independent of other known risk factors, such as family history, cigarette smoking and alcohol use.  It appears that the testes, like the brain, have receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical component of marijuana.

I found this information very interesting.  In our center, we have seen so many young people with ADHD attempt to self-medicate with Marijuana.  It appears the dangers of Marijuana are greater than we initially understood.

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A CALL TO RENAME ADHD

For many years people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have struggled with the negative way in which the name presents the condition. The current label for ADHD includes both the terms Deficit and Disorder. We asked some of our online friends the question “What is a good analogy to use to describe the creative chaos of the ADHD mind to neuro-typical people?

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Ways to Manage ADHD Stress During the Holidays

The problem here though is that dealing with ADHD can be a tough task at the best of times, so if you throw stress into the mix, that task just got tougher… Stress has a way of upsetting the sufferer in many little and large ways. If you are stressed you will not sleep well, you may lose your appetite, you may feel like giving up and are likely to pick up colds and headaches more easily. It’s wise to get rid of stress.

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Managing Kids with ADHD during the Holidays

As a parent of a child with ADD/ADHD you can make life easier for your ADHD child and certainly for yourself, if you take certain steps. They are not difficult, they may take a little time and may cost a bit of money [or may cost nothing at all], and they can pay dividends in the form of relaxation and a real good holiday.

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Pharmacy Shame and Adult ADHD

At first, the pharmacy tech was all smiles when she took my prescription and went to check if they had the medication on hand.  Then it started, “Oh really, it says here twice a day – I think that is too much.” “Oh yes, I will have to do some checking. Oh no, No- I [...]

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ADHD Adults Los Angeles – Plan Twice As Long As You Think You Will Need

Any adult who has ADHD will not be surprised when they hear someone say that their life is in turmoil. That is often a good description of someone with the condition, an ADDer or ADHDer. They find the following types of behavior or words to be commonplace in their life – procrastination, impulsive, poor time-management, easily distracted and inattention (actually-surplus attention). In fact those words are par for the course with many who have ADHD.

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ADHD Symptoms Los Angeles – The ADHD Mind Has No Internal Clock

When we face a task or a chore at home say like painting the fence, mowing the lawn or baking a cake, we should know approximately how long that chore will take. And this is especially so if we have baked that cake many times before or mown the lawn fifty times a year. But what if we were to get our timing wrong? What if we thought we could paint the fence in two hours and six hours later we were still not through?

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Adults ADHD in California – Being Late is one of the chief complaints of Adults with ADHD

In recent years rapid progress has been made particularly in dealing with adults who have ADHD. Professionals are better at diagnosis, understanding the full spectrum of the disorder, as well as treatments be it with medication, psychotherapy, coaching or other alternatives.

With adults, one of the major signs of their disorder is their inability to

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ADHD Symptoms Los Angeles – ADHD Brain has difficulty understanding how long things take in life

The brain is divided into sections and one of these is known as the pre-frontal cortex. Photo imaging or a kind of x-ray of the brain shows that there are differences in the structure of parts of the brain between someone with ADHD and someone who does not have the disorder. Knowing these differences is a major step towards better understanding and thus the treatment of the patient be they a child or an adult.

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