ADHD Medication Side Effect: Impaired Adult Working Memory

The possible long-term side effects of ADHD medications are constantly underplayed by doctors and pharmaceutical companies. As a result, millions of children and teens around the world use powerful stimulants to treat ADHD without being aware of the damage these drugs might do to the growing brain and body. A study recently uncovered a potential side effect of ADHD medication that can occur years after use - a decline in short-term memory or "working" memory.

Conventional ADHD medications contain a group of stimulants called amphetamines, which are designed to boost the levels of neurotransmitters dopamine (which reduce hyperactivity) and norepinephrine (which improves attention span and cognitive processes). These two brain chemicals are thought to be deficient in children and teens with ADHD, hence their uncontrollable hyperactivity, easy distractibility, and lack of focus. Once amphetamines enter the bloodstream, the increase in neurotransmitters happens almost instantly. This is why ADHD drugs are the preferred treatment of choice. Unfortunately, amphetamines also do damage to the brain over time; impaired working memory is one of the consequences of prolonged use.

This new study, which was presented at Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in Chicago, involved administering amphetamines to adolescent rats and adult rats. The researchers tested for two different kinds of exposure - intermittent, or a regular dose every other day, and binge-escalation, where the drug was administered in increased amounts over four days before giving a binge dose - a high dose every two hours for eight hours on day five. According to the findings, adolescent rats that were exposed to amphetamines were significantly worse at activities that required short-term memory than adult rats who received the same doses.

Although more studies need to confirm the other implications of amphetamine use for ADHD, one thing remains clear - children and adolescents who use amphetamines will pay the price during adulthood. Childhood and adolescence is a time when the brain is still growing to its mature form. Any exposure to drugs or toxic chemicals in this period may have long-lasting consequences. These findings are particularly worrisome for teens and college students who abuse ADHD medications to help them study, as the doses they take may be significantly higher than those who have prescriptions.

There's no doubt that ADHD medications are a convenient and easy way of suppressing the troublesome symptoms of the disorder. However, do consider the possible long-term side effects of these drugs before choosing to medicate your child.