Cognitive Function Improved by Long-Term ADHD Meds

In brief: Individuals with ADHD benefit greatly from long-term treatment with both stimulant (methylphenidate) and non-stimulant (atomoxetine) drugs in terms of cognitive performance. Enhancements in working memory, inhibition, attention, and response time are highlighted in the study. These skills are essential for success in the classroom and the workplace. This study emphasizes how crucial it is to take cognitive function into account in addition to behavioral treatment for ADHD. The results provide fresh perspectives on the effectiveness of long-term drug use for ADHD symptom management.

Important Details:

For patients with ADHD, both stimulant and non-stimulant drugs enhance cognitive abilities.

Significant improvements in working memory, inhibition, attention, and reaction time were found in the study.

Research indicates that both short-term and long-term drug use can enhance cognition equally.

King’s College London is the source.

One of the most common neurodevelopmental illnesses, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) typically lasts into adulthood.

Deficits in cognitive abilities, specifically in executive processes including working memory, timing, psychomotor speed, sustained attention, motor and interference inhibition, reaction time variability, and switching, are linked to ADHD.

This is the first meta-analysis research examining the effects of long-term treatment on working memory, attention, inhibition, and reaction time in ADHD patients. Each of these factors may have an impact on an individual’s professional or academic achievement in adulthood.

The results of this meta-analysis present chances to investigate the application of stimulants and non-stimulants in the management of ADHD in more detail. The discovery that long-term stimulant and non-stimulant treatment improves cognitive function relative to control has consequences for both adult and child performance in the workplace and classroom.Along with behavior, this is a crucial component of treating ADHD in children because poor academic achievement can be caused by working memory and attention deficit disorders.

“Focus can be on behavioral improvements, but cognitive function is an important part of understanding and treating ADHD,” said Professor Katya Rubia, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, King’s IoPPN.

For the first time, the meta-analysis demonstrates that when administered over an extended length of time, chronic methylphenidate and atomoxetine improve executive skills in ADHD patients in a comparable manner. The greatest benefit of both medications was an increase in focus.

A longer period, which reflects more common medication administration, is looked at in previous meta-analyses, but this is not quite as clinically meaningful as looking at effects at a single dose.

Stimulants were previously thought to be the more beneficial treatment for improving cognition, but evidence indicates that non-stimulant treatment is equally helpful over the long run.

For more information: The effects of chronic administration of stimulant and non-stimulant medications on executive functions in ADHD: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105703