Stimulant medications affect arousal and reward, not attention networks | Hacker News Reader

Stimulant medications affect arousal and reward, not attention networks

cell.com

19 pointse-khadem8 comments

> validated the functional connectivity findings in a precision imaging drug trial with highly sampled (n = 5, 165–210 min each) healthy adults (methylphenidate 40 mg).

40 mg!? I'm hypersensitive to it, so my ideal dose is about 5-6mg of extended release. First time the doc prescribed 20mg and I took one I was full on jaw-clenching, teeth-grinding like an addict, felt incredibly anxious and just spent an all-around awful three hours. But even for the "normal" people, outside of the US where half the nation is on legalized meth, isn't 40mg considered a high dosage everywhere else in the world? I get that they want things to show up clearly on the scans, but still it seems like dosage here has the potential to impact what gets activated.

While is was taking MPH I'd take 10mg three times a day (male, 76kg). The times I'd taken twice that amount would turn me into a face twisted gargoyle. 40mg would be unpleasant for sure.

I met a couple of doctors at a party once who would take 60mg recreationally each before going dancing. Seemed unreal.

Mag glycinate helps with face clenching, but I also couldn't go above 20mg Vyvanse without feeling uncomfortable.

> The times I'd taken twice that amount would turn me into a face twisted gargoyle.

Fantastic way to describe it, saving this one for later use.

>Stimulants reversed the behavioral and brain effects of sleeping less

Supporting this observation: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10....

I've been looking for theories for why 10mg Adderall seems to give me a brief feeling of drowsiness ~30 minutes after taking it.

The state regulation theory (§3) in this article might suggest that the process of returning to baseline could feel like sleepiness https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10....

Which makes more sense if the sleep disorder explanation for ADHD means that the normal feeling of sleepiness is not properly functioning.

Definitely. The things that I most agreed with my doctor and my psychologist was around rebuilding my daily routines on things that are important, but not overly rewarding, or with delayed reward (physical exercises, home chores, reading and entire book chapter before stopping).

So much so that I can reduce the medication when I feel my routine is healthy enough.

No overdoing neither under doing. Taking care of hyper focus is more important than anything else. Learning to transfer the rewards from highly rewarding things (videogames) to the chores.

During my gaming sessions as well, playing harder modes repeatedly without giving up.

It's very important this aspect of reframing things. Pursuing healthier outcomes by changing the routine.

Unfortunately a really close person to me is taking much higher dosages, but it's not seeing this way, neither the doctor of this person frames the same way like my doctor is doing.

I went all up to 50mg, using generics or whatnot, extended release or regular ones, now I'm a happy camper on 10mg. Will go to 20mg because I need to force myself into more exercises, usually I take 30 minutes before these sessions of "boring" routines.

More important than anything is having an honest discussion with my psychiatrist about the role and objectives of taking the medication.

This does make sense given modern understandings of ADHD are that it's not about it being a deficit in attention but rather a deficit in self-regulation and executive functioning.

I focus, and hyperfocus, without any help from a stimulant.

In fact, I am far more likely to go deep into a rabbit hole, of useful or wasted time, when I am tired.

But with a stimulant it is far easier at any time to choose to focus on ordinary important tasks, follow through, and enjoy getting necessary things done. I.e. improved executive function.

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