Why Stimulants Help ADHD

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 20:58:56 +0000

It seems like stimulants and hyperactivity shouldn't mix, so why are they so often prescribed to treat ADHD?

Hosted by: Hank Green
----------
Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow
----------
Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters:
Lazarus G, Kelly Landrum Jones, Sam Lutfi, Kevin Knupp, Nicholas Smith, D.A. Noe, alexander wadsworth, سلطان الخليفي, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Charles Southerland, Bader AlGhamdi, James Harshaw, Patrick Merrithew, Patrick D. Ashmore, Candy, Tim Curwick, charles george, Saul, Mark Terrio-Cameron, Viraansh Bhanushali, Kevin Bealer, Philippe von Bergen, Chris Peters, Justin Lentz
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow
Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow
----------
Sources:
https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00422
https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00182
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p....mc/articles/PMC27854
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25802473
https://jamanetwork.com/journa....ls/jama/fullarticle/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p....mc/articles/PMC37774
https://static.cambridge.org/r....esource/id/urn:cambr
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.o....rg/bbae/907320b60756
https://journals.lww.com/jrnld....bp/Abstract/2007/080
https://journals.lww.com/jrnld....bp/Abstract/2007/080
https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd..../ritalin-adderall-di
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18384709
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02039908
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p....mc/articles/PMC34898
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21859174
http://www.merckmanuals.com/ho....me/special-subjects/
https://jamanetwork.com/journa....ls/jamapsychiatry/fu

Image Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/....wiki/File:Amphetamin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/....Methylphenidate#/med