Ritalin May Make Learning Easier

Ritalin, a stimulant often used to treat attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder may also help the brain learn more quickly, according to a new study in animals.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco said in a news release that they found the drug can improve both focus and learning by strengthening connections in the brain, a characteristic known as plasticity.

Dr. Antonello Bonci, who led the study, said it could lead to the development of drugs that do a better job.

In the research, rats were trained that they could get sugar water when the saw a flash of light and heard a sound. Animals on Ritalin were compared to those who were not.

Those on Ritalin learned much better, the news release said, though it did not give information on how strong the effect was.

Sometimes, research that seems promising in animals does not translate to people, but the researchers said that they used doses comparable to those used in children.

Part of the research also involved researchers blocking certain dopamine receptors in the brain to find out exactly where Ritalin had its effect.