Journal article
Methylphenidate and the juvenile brain: enhancement of attention at the expense of cortical plasticity?
Medical hypotheses, v 81(6), pp 988-994
Dec 2013
PMID: 24095262
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is the most commonly prescribed psychoactive drug for juveniles and adolescents. Used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and for cognitive enhancement in healthy individuals, it has been regarded as a relatively safe medication for the past several decades. However, a thorough review of the literature reveals that the age-dependent activities of the drug, as well as potential developmental effects, are largely ignored. In addition, the diagnosis of ADHD is subjective, leaving open the possibility of misdiagnosis and excessive prescription of the drug. Recent studies have suggested that early life exposure of healthy rodent models to methylphenidate resulted in altered sleep/wake cycle, heightened stress reactivity, and, in fact, a dosage previously thought of as therapeutic depressed neuronal function in juvenile rats. Furthermore, juvenile rats exposed to low-dose methylphenidate displayed alterations in neural markers of plasticity, indicating that the drug might alter the basic properties of prefrontal cortical circuits. In this review of the current literature, we propose that juvenile exposure to methylphenidate may cause abnormal prefrontal function and impaired plasticity in the healthy brain, strengthening the case for developing a more thorough understanding of methylphenidate's actions on the developing, juvenile brain, as well as better diagnostic measures for ADHD.
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Details
- Title
- Methylphenidate and the juvenile brain: enhancement of attention at the expense of cortical plasticity?
- Creators
- Kimberly R Urban - Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129, United StatesWen-Jun Gao
- Publication Details
- Medical hypotheses, v 81(6), pp 988-994
- Publisher
- Elsevier; United States
- Grant note
- P50 MH068789 / NIMH NIH HHS R01MH085666 / NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH085666 / NIMH NIH HHS
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Neurobiology and Anatomy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000329334800004
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84888428629
- Other Identifier
- 991014878112504721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Medicine, Research & Experimental