ArticleScientific reports2021
Paternal exposure to a common pharmaceutical (Ritalin) has transgenerational effects on the behaviour of Trinidadian guppies.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The protective role of curcumin in mitigating drug-induced toxicity in male reproductive system.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Methylphenidate exposure alters brain gene expression and induces transgenerational DNA methylation changes in Poecilia reticulata guppies.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Paternal Exposure to Methylphenidate Induces Poor-Quality Blastocyst and Epigenetic Changes.Molecular reproduction and development · 2025Article
- Insights into adaptive behavioural plasticity from the guppy model system.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Review
- Trends in characteristics of the recipients of new prescription stimulants between years 2010 and 2020 in the United States: An observational cohort study.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Evidence is emerging that paternal effects, the nongenetic influence of fathers on their offspring, can be transgenerational, spanning several generations. Methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH; e.g. Ritalin) is a dopaminergic drug that is highly prescribed to adolescent males for the treatment of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. It has been suggested that MPH could cause transgenerational effects because MPH can affect the male germline in rodents and because paternal effects have been observed in individuals taking similar drugs (e.g. cocaine). Despite these concerns, the transgenerational effects of paternal MPH exposure are unknown. Therefore, we exposed male and female Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to a low, chronic dose of MPH and observed that MPH affected the anxiety/exploratory behaviour of males, but not females. Because of this male-specific effect, we investigated the transgenerational effects of MPH through the paternal line. We observed behavioural effects of paternal MPH exposure on offspring and great-grandoffspring that were not directly administered the drug, making this the first study to demonstrate that paternal MPH exposure can affect descendants. These effects were not due to differential mortality or fecundity between control and MPH lines. These results highlight the transgenerational potential of MPH.
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