Abstract
How do 'stimulants' reduce hyperactivity in children and adults? How can drugs which raise extracellular dopamine result in psychomotor slowing of hyperactive children when dopamine is known to enhance motor activity, such as in Parkinson's disease? These apparent paradoxes are the focus of this brief review on the mechanism of action of stimulant medications used in the treatment of children, and of an increasing number of adults who meet diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
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Review
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Amphetamine / pharmacology*
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Amphetamine / therapeutic use*
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Animals
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Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / drug therapy*
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Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / physiopathology
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Central Nervous System Stimulants / pharmacology*
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Central Nervous System Stimulants / therapeutic use*
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Child
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Dopamine / physiology*
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Humans
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Methylphenidate / pharmacology*
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Methylphenidate / therapeutic use*
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Models, Neurological
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Parkinson Disease / physiopathology
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Protein Conformation
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Receptors, Dopamine / physiology
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Receptors, Dopamine D2 / chemistry
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Receptors, Dopamine D2 / physiology
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Receptors, Dopamine D4
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Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid
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Synapses / drug effects
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Synapses / physiology
Substances
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Central Nervous System Stimulants
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DRD4 protein, human
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Receptors, Dopamine
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Receptors, Dopamine D2
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Receptors, Dopamine D4
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Methylphenidate
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Amphetamine
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Dopamine