Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Behavioural rewards 'work like drugs' for ADHD

Behavioural rewards 'work like drugs' for ADHD Behavioral Reward Incentives May Benefit Children With Attention-Deficit Disorders.BBC News (4/18) reported that, according to a study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, "the brains of children with attention-deficit disorders respond to on-the-spot rewards in the same way as they do to medication." Researchers in the UK came to this conclusion after using electroencephalograms to measure "brain activity as children played a computer game, offering extra points for less impulsive behaviour." The investigators "found that the incentives helped the children perform better at the game, although not to the same extent as the child's normal dose of" medications, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate).http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8625741.stm

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