The trade name for methylphenidate (MPH), an amphetamine-like drug that is often prescribed to control the symptoms of ADHD. Paradoxically, methylphenidate is a stimulant that arouses the brain. It has its effect on ADHD by increasing the arousal of the part of the brain that controls inhibition, allowing ADHD children to exhibit inhibitory control over behaviour. Initially prescribed as a treatment for depression, chronic fatigue, and narcolepsy, among other ailments during the 1950s, it was used to treat children with ADHD starting in the 1960s. The pharmacological pathways by which MPH exerts its effects leading to ADHD are not well understood. One theory, based on the assumption that ADHD arises as a consequence of a dopamine imbalance in the central nervous system, contends that MPH, as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, increases the level of dopamine in the brain by blocking in part the transporters that remove it from the synapses. Criticisms of the use of MPH to treat children diagnosed with ADHD include the following accusations. It is mainly administered to sedate problem cases so that they will not disrupt classroom teaching, it transforms healthy children into ‘zombies’ who lose their creativity and intellectual curiosity; and it can lead to drug addictions later in life. The ‘zombification’ or zombie syndrome outcome is a particularly contentious issue that has engendered much debate. A large number of publications has led to either conflicting or inconclusive results (except that the syndrome is present for a couple of days after starting on the drug), and thus it is not surprising that the American Medical Association came to the conclusion that there was little evidence to support this contention. However, overdosing on the stimulant can produce this effect. As for later drug abuse, recent research has suggested that ADHD boys treated with stimulants like MPH or dexedrine are, in fact, less likely to be involved in this and alcohol abuse as adults (when taken in the correct dosage). Russell A. Barkley, a leading theorist on the determinants of ADHD, considers it to be as safe as aspirin, a somewhat controversial standpoint
. See Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Dopamine, Methylphenidate