https://www.healthline.com/health-news/adderall-wont-give-your-brain-a-boost-if-you-dont-have-adhd#The-appeal-of-ADHD-drugs https://www.healthline.com/health-ne

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/adderall-wont-give-your-brain-a-boost-if-you-dont-have-adhd#The-appeal-of-ADHD-drugs https://www.healthline.com/health-news/adderall-wont-give-yo... >New research finds ADHD medications like Adderall don’t improve cognition in healthy college students and may even impair the memory of those who abuse the drugs. ... >But how do these drugs respond differently to the brains of people with and without ADHD? Weyandt said that she believes the human brain might need to be at a deficit of some kind for drugs like these to work. If not, they could have a detrimental effect. >She said that neuroimaging research with people who have ADHD has found reduced activity — think blood flow — in parts of the brain associated with the condition’s symptoms when off medication. >Once given the proper medication, the activity increases in these regions of the brain, and ADHD symptoms go down. So a person with ADHD has an improved ability to pay attention, and shows improved memory, planning, and response inhibition, she said. >“Since we found the drug did not improve neurocognition and may negatively influence working memory, this may suggest a deficit is needed to benefit from the medication,” she added. “Furthermore, we have found in other studies that students who report significant ADHD symptoms are more likely to misuse stimulants.”