Drug Discovery Opinion

The dopamine reuptake inhibitor, Ritalin® (methylphenidate) has been used for almost 50 years to treat children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and, more recently – and controversially, has been used by students to enhance academic performance and as a recreational drug. Although Ritalin® has been prescribed for millions of children, the mechanisms by which it modifies behavioural performance remain poorly understood. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have now shown, in animals at least, that Ritalin® improves ability to focus on tasks and directly enhances speed of learning by distinct dopamine receptor-mediated mechanisms.

By co-administering Ritalin® with either the dopamine D₁ receptor antagonist, SCH-23390, or the dopamine D₂ receptor antagonist, raclopride, the team were able to show the well-known benefit of improved focus was mediated through D₂ receptor-dependent mechanisms whereas learning efficiency was enhanced through D₁ receptor-dependent mechanisms. The study also established that Ritalin® strengthens synapses and enhances neuroplasticity. A better understanding of the way that Ritalin® improves focus and enhances learning could lead to the development of more targeted drugs for ADHD and learning enhancement.

The study is published in Nature Neuroscience.

Related posts:

1. Teenagers Really Are Different Puberty is a time of great physical and emotional changes and studies have shown that some skills are most easily...
2. Is the Cat Driving you Mad? Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite is able to infect most warm-blooded animals,...
3. Challenging the Role of PI3 Kinase in Alzheimer’s Conventional wisdom, supported by in vitro experiments, has previously suggested that phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) plays a protective role in Alzheimer’s...
4. Natural Sigma-1 Receptor Ligand Indentified Sigma-1 receptors are widely distributed throughout the body, especially within some areas of the brain, and have been linked to...
5. New Target to Enhance Cognitive Function Histones are basic proteins that interact with negatively charged phosphate groups on DNA, compacting and protecting the DNA, and controlling...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

 Email This Post

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.