Ritalin increases brain plasticity

From ScienceDaily: Ritalin Boosts Learning by Increasing Brain Plasticity. The report states that Ritalin not only improves concentration, but also increases the speed of learning (at least in animal models). It does this by increasing brain plasticity, especially in the amygdala. Antonello Bonci, the lead scientist, stated:

"We found that a dopamine receptor, known as the D2 receptor, controls the ability to stay focused on a task -- the well-known benefit of Ritalin," said Patricia Janak, PhD, co-senior author on the paper. "But we also discovered that another dopamine receptor, D1, underlies learning efficiency."

Fascinating stuff that bears looking into.

See the research abstract here.