ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2013
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stimulant medications as cognitive enhancers.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic reviews of the acute effects of amphetamine on working memory and other cognitive performances in healthy individuals, with a focus on the potential influence of personality traits.Human psychopharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Comparison of Fidgeting in Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Between Before and After Stimulant Medication Intake.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Methylphenidate alters selective attention by amplifying salience.Psychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Emotional Profiles in Adolescents With ADHD: A Person-Centered Analysis of Emotion Regulation, Resilience, and Internalizing Symptoms.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Psychostimulant effects on motor and cognitive function in adults attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Factors associated with stimulant persistence among children with ADHD: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Unraveling Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Etiology: Current Challenges and Future Directions in Treatment.NeuroSci · 2025Review
- Ginkgo Biloba as a niche theme cognitive enhancer agent, 1420 dokumen of Scopus database. A bibliometric study from 1988 to 2024.F1000Research · 2025Article
- Article
- Inflammatory biotype of ADHD is linked to chronic stress: a data-driven analysis of the inflammatory proteome.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- The need for speed? Exploring the risks and benefits of pharmacological treatment for adult ADHD in prisons.Psychiatry, psychology, and law : an interdisciplinary journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law · 2024Article
- Methylphenidate modulates motor cortical dynamics and behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Review
- Interaction of Diamine Oxidase with Psychostimulant Drugs for ADHD Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Is practice good enough? Retrieval benefits students with ADHD but does not compensate for poor encoding in unmedicated students.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Overtreatment: Is a solution possible?Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2022Article
- Knowledge and attitude of Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among male primary school teachers, in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2021Article
- Review
- Mapping the neuroanatomic substrates of cognition in familial attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Psychological medicine · 2019Article
- Reward-Based Learning as a Function of Severity of Substance Abuse Risk in Drug-Naïve Youth with ADHD.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent increases in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses, and the escalation of stimulant prescriptions, has raised concern about diversion and abuse of stimulants, as well as the ethics of using these drugs as "cognitive enhancers."Such concern appears misplaced in the face of substantial evidence that stimulant drugs do not improve the academic performance of ADHD-diagnosed students. Moreover, numerous studies have found little or no benefit of stimulants on neuropsychological tests of ADHD-diagnosed as well as normal, individuals. This paper examines the apparent paradox: why don't drugs that improve "attention," produce better academic outcomes in ADHD-diagnosed students? We found that stimulant drugs significantly improved impairment of episodic memory in ADHD-diagnosed undergraduate students. Nevertheless, we also found consistent academic deficits between ADHD students and their non-ADHD counterparts, regardless of whether or not they used stimulant medications. We reviewed the current literature on the behavioral effects of stimulants, to try to find an explanation for these conflicting phenomena. Across a variety of behavioral tasks, stimulants have been shown to reduce emotional reactions to frustration, improve the ability to detect errors, and increase effortful behavior. However, all of these effects would presumably enhance academic performance. On the other hand, the drugs were also found to promote "risky behavior" and to increase susceptibility to environmental distraction. Such negative effects, including the use of drugs to promote wakefulness for last minute study, might explain the lack of academic benefit in the "real world," despite their cognitive potential. Like many drugs, stimulants influence behavior in multiple ways, depending on the environmental contingencies. Depending on the circumstances, stimulants may, or may not, enhance cognition.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.