Everything You Wanted To Know About ADHD by The Neuroscience Education Institute

Author:The Neuroscience Education Institute
Language: rus
Format: mobi
Published: 2009-01-15T22:32:19+00:00

Chapter 4: The Treatment of ADHD

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ADHD, Stress and Comorbidities

FIGURE 4.5. Non-treated adults with ADHD can often be stressed as they are trying to deal with their disorder while at the same time trying to accomplish as much as their peers.

Unfortunately, stress can activate NE and DA circuits in the prefrontal cortex and thus cause an excess of phasic NE and DA fi ring. This excessive NE and DA neurotransmission may be the underpinnings of the development of drug and alcohol abuse, impulsivity, inattention, and anxiety, all comorbid with ADHD. This again emphasizes the notion that treatment of all disorders is necessary to ascertain good patient outcome.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About ADHD But Forgot You Wanted to Ask

Chronic Treatment with Atomoxetine in

ADHD with Excessive Prefrontal NE and

DA Signals

FIGURE 4.6. Stress combined with excessive NE and DA signaling can lead to ADHD, anxiety, or substance abuse. One way to reduce excessive stimulation could be to desensitize postsynaptic DA and NE receptors, and thus allow the neurons to return to normal tonic fi ring over time. By continuously blocking the NE transporter, atomoxetine has the capability to do this.

The “big picture” ramifi cation of such a treatment could be the reduction of the overactivity of the HPA axis, and possibly the reversal of stress-related brain atrophy or the induction of neu-rogenesis. All of these might then lead to a decrease in anxiety, a decrease in heavy drinking, and a reduction in relapses.

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