Optimizing long-term treatment in ADHD: neurobiological and behavioral consequences of prolonged methylphenidate use
Professor Taco de Vries, Associate Professor Linda Douw, Assistant Professor Anouk Schrantee, Associate Professor Tommy Pattij together with UMC Groningen
Many children take long-term ADHD medication. At the start of the treatment, medication is often effective. Whether medication also helps on the long rung is unknown. We also do not know the long-term effects of ADHD medication on the brain. This study helps understand how the brain responds to long-term use of ADHD medication. We will study this in children, adolescents, and young adults, by using brain imaging and computer tasks. We will also investigate medication effects in the brains of rats of different ages. The knowledge derived from this proposal will increase the understanding of the benefits and risks of long-term pharmacological treatment of ADHD.
A translational study towards the understanding of the role of the dopamine and serotonin systems in drug use motives
Dr. Jan Booij together with Radboud UMC
Drug addiction is a chronic brain disorder that develops over time and is characterized by clinical heterogeneity, which means that treatments are not effective for all patients. The heterogeneity is caused, among other things, by other psychiatric conditions associated with drug addiction as well as social factors. This leads to individual differences in motives to use drugs, such as compulsive-, impulsive-, and negative urgency-driven use. These motives are emotion driven, which are strongly dependent on the dopamine and serotonin systems. In this project, the researchers combine patient and animal research to understand how the dopamine and serotonin systems in the brain contribute to motives for drug use and how the systems and motives change over time. This provides biomarkers to tailor existing drug treatments better to the individual patient.