Abstract
Methylphenidate is one of the most common pharmaceutical treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). It is also gaining popularity as a cognitive enhancement and recreational substance. The current study assesses the long-term effects of methylphenidate (MPD) on the circadian rhythm activity pattern of adolescent and adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The experiment lasted for 11 days of non-stop recording, the evaluation was divided into 4 phases: acute, induction, washout, and expression phases. Circadian rhythm changes in each phase were compared between the adolescent and adult rats using the following parameters MESOR (midline estimating statistic of rhythm) or average activity, amplitude (distance from MESOR to the peak activity), and acrophase (time at which peak amplitude occurs). Overall, more significant changes in circadian rhythm pattern among adult rats were observed as compared to adolescent rats. As the circadian rhythm governs the diurnal locomotor activity pattern, changes in the locomotor pattern induced by chronic treatment MPD indicate that the drug exerts a long-term effect on the circadian rhythm.
Highlights
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibits onset in childhood and lasts into adulthood
The rats were individually housed in a Plexiglas cage that was their home and test cage and maintained on a 12-hour light/dark cycle inside a soundattenuated room that had an ambient temperature of 21 ̊C ± 2 ̊C and relative humidity of 37% to 42%
No alterations of circadian rhythm activity patterns were evident throughout the 11 Experimental Day (ED) in the two groups 4 and 8 following repetitive saline injection
Summary
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibits onset in childhood and lasts into adulthood. (2015) Adolescent and Adult Circadian Rhythm Activity Modulated Differently Following Chronic Methylphenidate Administration. The psychostimulant methylphenidate (MPD), better known by its trade name as Ritalin, is one of the most common pharmaceutical treatments in children and adults with ADHD. Its pharmacotherapy is often utilized for prolonged periods of time [2]. Methylphenidate is steadily gaining popularity among adolescent and young adults as the treatment of ADHD [5]-[7] as well as for cognitive enhancement and for recreation [8] [9]
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