Early Use of ADHD Drug Alters Brain

An article published on WebMD boldly stated that Ritalin use in preteen children may lead to depression later in life. Ritalin and cocaine have different effects on humans. But their effects on the brain are very similar. When given to preteen rats, both drugs cause long-term changes in behavior.

One of the changes seems good. Early exposure to Ritalin makes rats less responsive to the rewarding effects of cocaine. But that’s not all good. It might mean that the drug short-circuits the brain’s reward system. That would make it difficult to experience pleasure — a “hallmark symptom of depression,” Carlezon and colleagues note.

The other change seems all bad. Early exposure to Ritalin increases rats’ depressive-like responses in a stress test. “These experiments suggest that preadolescent exposure to [Ritalin] in rats causes numerous complex behavioral adaptations, each of which endures into adulthood,” Carlezon and colleagues conclude. “This work highlights the importance of a more thorough understanding of the enduring neurobiological effects of juvenile exposure to psychotropic drugs.”

These “knowledgeable” doctors out there writing prescriptions left and right for ADHD have no idea what these drugs are doing to the brain and nervous system.  Call me crazy, but this really bothers me.  Since when did it become okay to make humans, especially CHILDREN, the lab-rats and test subjects for such dangerous chemical drugs?

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