Effects of prolonged methylphenidate treatment on amygdala reactivity and connectivity: a randomized controlled trial in stimulant treatment-naive, male participants with ADHD

Abstract Background Problems with emotional processing are widely reported in individuals attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although methylphenidate (MPH) effectively alleviates inattention and hyperactivity symptoms ADHD, its effects on internalizing have remained elusive. While we previously found that acute MPH administration modulated neural mechanisms underlying an age-dependent manner, the of prolonged unknown. Objectives Therefore, investigated: (i) whether treatment influences substrates (amygdala reactivity connectivity) processing, (ii) these by age. Methods The “effects Psychotropic drugs On Developing brain-MPH” (“ePOD-MPH”) randomized controlled trial was a 16-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center 50 boys (10–12 years age) 49 men (23–40 age), all stimulant treatment-naive diagnosed ADHD. Participants performed face-matching task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed their ADHD at baseline, (8 weeks), 1 week after end (17 weeks). Results Conclusions did not find as measured amygdala connectivity this participants. This differs from our findings following dopamine system, which were both Interestingly, improve symptoms, although depressive anxiety showed medication-independent decrease. Furthermore, data indicate baseline may be used to predict particularly (male) adults