Mechanism of calming hyperactivity by psychostimulant drugs identified
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - 17:30
in Psychology & Sociology
It has long been known that psychostimulant drugs have the paradoxical effect of reducing hyperactivity. [Psychostimulant drugs include methylphenidate known by the trade names Ritalin, Concerta, and Methylin and methamphetamine]. Since the mid-1950s, millions of children and adults have been prescribed stimulant medications to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But for more than seven decades, since the first experiment that gave an amphetamine drug to children diagnosed with behavioral problems, scientists have not known how stimulants work to control hyperactivity.