Methylphenidate (Ritalin) & Your Brain

As we learned
misdiagnosis of ADHD is a common problem mostly because it’s such a subjective diagnosis, There is no real test to accurately diagnosis this condition like a blood test or something like that. What complicates the problem even more is once the diagnosis is made, everyone wants to put the kiddo on Ritalin or a similar drug. I know that this drug has a long history of use with kids and many of these kids “seem” to do better once on the drugs. This may be just an appearance however, and we can get into some of the really bad side effects that Ritalin does to a child who has been properly diagnosed. However, a really bad problem is becoming more common is when a kiddo who has been misdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD and starts taking the drug. New studies are coming out that show Ritalin is now over-prescribed, and that it may cause very undesirable changes in the brain of that kiddo over time. Also, recent animal studies suggest that children who are mistakenly diagnosed with ADHD and treated with Ritalin may be more likely to develop depression as adults. This can be explained by Ritalin’s effects on the reward pathway.
A researcher at the University of Delaware, Dr. Kimberly Urban stated, “We realized this is a drug prescribed to children and there aren’t good diagnostic measures in terms of determining who has ADHD and who doesn’t and it is probably over prescribed… And We wanted to find what [Ritalin] could do to a normal brain”.

Multiple researchers from a number of universities participated in this study which was published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. The studies were focused on the effects of the drug on the brain’s prefrontal cortex ( a part of the brain very important to the thinking.

There are two types of cells in that region:
excitatory cells and inhibitory cells. It is the interaction of these cells that determine your ability to shift your focus from one thing to another and be able to concentrate on the new thing once you do. For instance if you are doing something and decide to get up and go to the kitchen, your ability to remember why you went to the kitchen when you get there is determined by this interaction of inhibitory and excitatory cells.

In kiddos who have true ADHD, there is little activity in the excitatory cells. The drug tends to increase this activity. This allows the kiddo to concentrate on one task better which the general public tends to see as a positive thing. (In other words, it will give the appearance that the kid is more like other students)

The problem is that kiddos who have been given the ADHD diagnosis, but have normal activity in these cells, the drug will over excite them and thus overload the bran causing it to shut down.

First
lets go in to how we think Ritalin works. there are chemicals called neuro transmitters in the brain that control how your brain functions. one of the chemicals is called Dopamine and when this chemical is secreted, you are able to focus because it hits the part of the brain that basically controls the traffic and tells the signals where to go). Some people who have the ADD / ADHD diagnosis don’t seem to have enough dopamine, or at least when Ritalin is given it allows the dopamine to build up, and the kiddo is able to concentrate easier.

This may sound wonderful and great and who wouldn’t want their child to have this benefit. Because there isn’t any “normal” levels for dopamine in a brain to decide whether you have this problem or not, far too many children who have enough dopamine in their brain for normal function are diagnosed as ADD/ ADHD and when those normal brains are put on the drug, it causes the brain to shut down because of overload.

So, why are kids with normal dopamine levels exhibiting ADD/ADHD symptoms? There are actually lots of reasons this can happen. Yes if you are concerned about your child, you could take them in for a diagnosis, but as you have read it is very possible that the wrong diagnosis will be given. If this is a concern, call us for an evaluation here. The problem could be the result of food allergies or improper nerve flow to the brain. Getting checked here first will allow us to rule out these problems first and possibly solve these problems without you being forced to deal with the decision of whether to medicate or not And that is a much easier place to be as a parent.