Neuroscience and Brain Imaging

A new Cell study led by Washington University researchers, using resting‑state MRI scans from nearly 12,000 U.S. adolescents, finds that ADHD stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin exert relatively little direct effect on brain networks that control attention, instead primarily activating arousal and reward circuits. The work suggests the drugs may help about 3.5 million U.S. children with ADHD stay on task by boosting norepinephrine‑driven alertness and dopamine‑mediated tolerance for mundane tasks, challenging long‑held assumptions about their mechanism of action and informing how clinicians and families understand treatment effects.