Can Ritalin affect kids' brain growth?

NEW YORK, July 20 (UPI) -- Ritalin, a drug used to treat ADHD in humans, temporarily changed important areas of young rat brains during studies at Cornell Weill Medical College.

Researchers Teresa Milner and Jason Gray led the study, which is one of the first to look at the effects of Ritalin on the neurochemistry of the developing brain.

On day 35 of a study involving male rats on the drug -- which were given the drug for the equivalent of early childhood to adolescence -- the researchers saw changes in the rodents' brains in areas responsible for higher executive thinking and decision-making, memory, learning, motor function, appetite, arousal, and addictive behavior.

However, the team discontinued the drug and retested the rats three months later, and found that all areas of the brain and their function had returned to normal.

"One thing to remember is that these young animals had normal healthy brains," Milner said. "In ADHD-affected brains, where the neurochemistry is already somewhat awry or the brain might be developing too fast, these changes might help reset that balance in a healthy way. On the other hand, in brains without ADHD, Ritalin might have a more negative effect. We just don't know yet."

The researchers said doctors should make sure they don't mistakenly prescribe the drug for youngsters with healthy brain chemistry.

A report on the research was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.