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ADHD Medications and Brain Development Part 2

July 9th, 2008 · 1 Comment

ADHD medicationsOne area that does show differences that are consistent among children with ADHD is the cerebellum. This is the back of the brain that deals with motor coordination but might also be the influence of many other activities.

All children that have ADHD usually have a cerebellum that is around six percent smaller in volume than cerebellums in children who do not have ADHD.

There have been parents as well as doctors who question if drugs such as Ritalin, a commonly prescribed medication to treat ADD/ADHD symptoms, are causing the brain to delay in developing. In recent studies, this has been proven otherwise.


Though there is a difference in brain size, there is not any clear appearance of any type of delay in the overall brain development. These findings should be reassurance to all parents and doctors who have children and patients taking medications to treat ADD/ADHD.

Even though these findings are still considered to be in the early stages, they offer a sense of hope to many that maybe studies are getting closer to understanding the exact parts of the brain that are affected by ADHD. This may also help to find a cause for ADHD.

The findings that have proved that ADHD medicine and brain development delays are not in any way related help researchers undercover other possibility as an answer to the many mysteries of children with ADD and ADHD.


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