The Roles of Dopamine and Noradrenaline in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

• Published in: Biological psychiatry (1969) Vol. 69; no. 12; pp. e145 - e157
• Main Authors: del Campo, Natalia, Chamberlain, Samuel R., Sahakian, Barbara J., Robbins, Trevor W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.06.2011
• Subjects: Animals; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnostic imaging; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Brain Mapping - methods; Central Nervous System Stimulants - pharmacology; Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Corpus Striatum - diagnostic imaging; Corpus Striatum - drug effects; Corpus Striatum - physiopathology; dopamine; Dopamine - physiology; frontostriatal circuits; Humans; Neural Pathways - diagnostic imaging; Neural Pathways - drug effects; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; nigrostriatal projections; noradrenaline; Norepinephrine - physiology; positron emission tomography; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Prefrontal Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Prefrontal Cortex - drug effects; Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology; Psychiatry; noradrenaline; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; positron emission tomography; dopamine; nigrostriatal projections; frontostriatal circuits

Through neuromodulatory influences over fronto-striato-cerebellar circuits, dopamine and noradrenaline play important roles in high-level executive functions often reported to be impaired in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Medications used in the treatment of ADHD (including methylp...