Eli5: How do ADHD meds work in the ADHD brain in comparison to a normal brain?
In: 5
TL; DR
ADHD -> too little dopamine
Meds -> more dopamine
Too little dopamine -> dementia/adhd
Too much -> schizophrenia
Normal + meds = too much
One of the side-effects of uppers is tunnel-vision-like focus. An ADHD brain doesn’t filter information correctly. It just takes in everything. For example, the cocktail party effect. Where the whole room can be noisy with conversation, your brain filters all the other things being, said. Allowing you to hear the right one correctly. With ADHD you hear everything, at once. Stimulants like ritalin, aderall, even cocaine, focusses so that it is easier to do these things. And keeps you focused by forcing you to do that one thing over and over again. Because the hyperactivity is a result of continuous overstimulation, people with ADHD get calmer on drugs that will keep others awake for a week.
Edit;
You asked for how it works in the brain so here it goes
Prefrontal cortex does attention behaviour impulsiveness etc.
One of the hormones involved is dopamine, it inhibits the orefrontal cortex.
ADHD disregulates dopamine
Too little dopamine – prefrontal cortex goes haywire, party-time, All the time, like a rave in the head
Ritalin limits the re-uptake. So dopamine stays around longer, more inhibition. Normal functioning.
Normal brains don’t have a low dopamine circuit. So add ritalin, you get overstimulation, anxiety, stress, Increased risk-taking behaviors
Increased impulsivity
Mood swings
Excitability and energy
Disrupted sleep cycles or trouble sleeping
Extreme reduction in appetite
Problematic weight loss
Depressed moods and decreased anxiety
Basically, too much of a good thing.
Dopamine, (and norepinephrine), are also key in many forms of dementia and share many characteristics with adhd
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