Chronic Methylphenidate Effects on Brain Gene Expression: An Exploratory Review

Abstract

Methylphenidate (MP) is a psychostimulant commonly prescribed for individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but it is also taken with and without a prescription for performance enhancement. Prior research has characterized the effects of MP on behavior, cognition, and neurochemistry. This exploratory review covers the uses of MP and examined the effects of MP on gene expression in the brain following exposure. Overall, MP causes a wide-spread potentiation of genes, in a regionspecific manner; consequently, inducing neuronal alterations, such as synaptic plasticity and transmission, resulting in observed behaviors and affects. Monoamine neurotransmitters and post-synaptic density protein genes generally had a potentiating effect in gene expression after exposure to MP.

Exercise Influences the Brain’s Metabolic Response to Chronic Cocaine Exposure in Male Rats

“…Inhibition in cPu, st, and the thalamus are of particular interest because they are a part of the brain's reward cascade [14], which may impact response to cocaine. These results in female rats imply that exercise could help balance the bGluM changes observed following chronic cocaine [15] or psychostimulant use [16,17]. The functional connectivity of regions affected, as well as the role of specific regions in addiction, should also be considered [9].…”