LOS ANGELES — The effects of methylphenidate — a stimulant used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder — are interesting. The drug clearly helps many people with ADHD with mental focus and concentration.
And although many parents fear giving the medication, whose brand name is Ritalin, to children diagnosed with ADHD because it is a drug that could be abused, studies show that those children and teens who benefit from the medication are less likely to abuse drugs.
Now a new study ties the benefits of methylphenidate with treatment for substance abuse. The small study found that giving Ritalin to people with cocaine addiction seemed to help them with impulse control.
Impulse control is a major reason why people succumb to substance abuse even when they know it’s bad for them.
Researchers from Yale University gave 10 volunteers Ritalin and then used functional MRI to scan their brain activity while they engaged in a computer task that assessed impulse control. When the 10 subjects received Ritalin, they were better able to control their impulses than during a separate session, two days later, when they received a placebo instead of the medication.
MRIs showed changes from Ritalin use in brain areas that reflect inhibitory control, particularly the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain seems to be crucial to “behavioral control during emotionally difficult situations,” the authors wrote.
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