Pete Quily

Interesting. Good it works for your dad

Yes, there are many studies showing this

Some of them decades, old

But science isn’t as viral as stigma and ignorance sadly

ADHD medication can be a huge protector from addictions for many ADHD folk.

Our brains naturally seek dopamine, which often leads to addictive tendencies and behaviours.

Lots of people with ADHD and bipolar

And I’ve lost track of the stories of people with bipolar that got misdiagnosed with other conditions

We need to have doctors all competently trained on all mental health conditions mandatory training voluntarily is not working

I feel a kinship as a woman not diagnosed with bipolar until I was 32

A brain map and connectivity matrix showing enriched stimulant-related differences in salience regions.

Stimulants also increased connectivity of salience network, which encodes anticipated reward, influencing motivation and task-switching. We hypothesize stimulants elevate the perceived salience of mundane tasks (e.g. schoolwork), facilitating motivation without directly acting on attention networks.

The brain effects of not getting enough sleep (left) are negated by taking a stimulant medication (right).

The arousal-related differences in connectivity associated with stimulants were so strong that they completely negated brain differences related to not getting enough sleep!

The pattern of stimulant-related connectivity was similar to that of arousal-related brain maps generated from EEG, respiratory variation, and norepinephrine (PET).

Wakefulness, or arousal, is associated with decreased connectivity in somatomotor networks – exactly the pattern we see in children taking stimulants. The stimulant pattern is highly similar to EEG- and physiologically-derived maps of arousal and concordant with norepinephrine density.

Brain maps comparing stimulant-related differences in connectivity in the ABCD Study and in a replication trial with healthy adults. The maps are very similar, r = 0.32.

We were so surprised, we replicated our findings in a precision imaging drug trial of adults without ADHD taking an experimentally controlled dose of methylphenidate (thanks @realjoshsiegel.bsky.social). The stimulant brain maps from ABCD were highly correlated with our replication trial, p < 0.001.

Maps showing brain regions whose connectivity is most affected by stimulants and by sleep duration. The maps are very similar, r = 0.58.

I’ve been teaching medical students stimulants treat hyperactivity by “stimulating” the brain’s attention systems, but it turns out I was wrong. Stimulants mimicked the effects of getting more sleep and anticipated reward, not attention.

A diagram showing canonical brain networks and how they are affected by stimulants. Stimulants increase arousal and reward, but they don't act on attention networks. Stimulants negate the drowsiness-effect of reduced sleep on brain connectivity.

We used Network Level Analysis @muriahwheelock.bsky.social to assess relative stimulant-related changes in attention, arousal, and reward networks. Attention was the least changed, arousal and reward the most. The effects on arousal were so great, stimulants negated the brain effects of drowsiness!

A boy doing his homework. Stimulants help him by increasing his arousal and reward, not by changing his capacity for attention.

Stimulants helped children with ADHD or poor sleep (ABCD n=11k) with cognitive tasks. They counter the effects of fatigue and elevate the perceived salience of goal-oriented actions, facilitating boring tasks without directly affecting capacity to pay attention. Illustration by @sonhita.bsky.social

Yes, but I believe reading somewhere that it actually wipes out the immunity of past vaccine so you need to get those vaccines all over again

And doesn’t measles wipes out your past vaccine immunity Also?

Hope some organization tracks RFK Junior Trump Republicans anti-science anti-vaxxers, disinformation salespeople, disease spreader results and document them as such

Obviously needs to be a group project

6/ What’s most troubling is the silence from national leadership. Past federal campaigns encouraged vaccination, but that messaging is absent. Awareness, education, and empowerment are not front and center. As a result, measles will likely demand far more public health attention in the years ahead.

5/ Public health is closely watching several hotspots:
🔹South Carolina, where an outbreak has surpassed Texas last year.
🔹Utah and Arizona, where cases keep growing.
🔹ICE detention centers in Arizona and Texas are reporting cases. Facilities have close quarters, which fuels the spread.

4/ The 2026 U.S. numbers are alarming. In January alone, 662 measles cases were reported. That’s an astonishing number for a single month, and January is usually a slower period for measles spread. WHO will examine the U.S. measles elimination status in April, and all signs point toward us losing it

3/ There’s several colliding forces at play here:
🔹Collective amnesia about vaccine-preventable diseases
🔹Global instability
🔹A transformed online info ecosystem
🔹Bad actors exploiting spaces
🔹Deepening mistrust in institutions

2/ Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Spain, the U.K., and Uzbekistan lost measles elimination status. Canada lost its elimination status late last year. Measles is no longer a random event in these countries; it’s endemic and freely flowing.

1/ Vaccines worked so well that people have forgotten what life looked like without them. #Measles is reminding us. Because it’s the most contagious virus on Earth, even small drops in vaccination give it an opening.

And right now, those openings are everywhere, both nationally and globally.

‘Inoculation’ helps people spot political deepfakes, study finds Priming people to watch out for political deepfakes helps them question the AI-generated videos.

‘Inoculation’ helps people spot political deepfakes, study finds
theconversation.com/inoculation-...

"...inoculation messages can help people recognize deepfakes and even make people more willing to debunk them."

"...especially important to find ways to reduce the harmful effects of deepfakes."

I while back I had set aside some meds for an emergency or if I lost my insurance. I thought maybe I lost them or accidentally threw them away or something, but I just found them. I probably have enough to get me through until I see a new doctor. I'm so relieved. I've been miserable lately. #adhd

OCD, Autism & ADHD Overlap | Neurodivergent Insights OCD frequently co-occurs with Autism and ADHD, adding complexity to diagnosis and care. Dr Neff explores how OCD fits within the broader neurodivergent landscape.

"It is not rare for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to intersect with autism or ADHD. […] Distinguishing between OCD, Autism, & ADHD isn’t just an academic exercise. It’s a vital step in providing the right support for each individual." -Dr. Megan Anna Neff:

neurodivergentinsights.com/obsessive-co...

Yes, under diagnosis and misdiagnosis is the norm for adults with ADHD

The smallest problem is over diagnosis, but it gets the biggest media attention.

None of those impulsive, easily distracted, multitasking, chasing dopamine via News reporters could have ADHD and be in denial could they?

Whenever I hear the "conversation" about the over diagnoses of ADHD I ponder the effects of underdiagnosis

My office and a group of AGs secured over $17 million from drug companies Bausch and Lannett for inflating the prices of medication for diabetes, cancer, ADHD, and more.
 
New Yorkers who may have been cheated can claim the money they're owed.

my adhd meds are caught in some sort of prior authorization hell and I have to call a bunch of people to try to figure it out and this is the wrong medication to be trapped thus

Nothing like ADHD leading to forgetting to take medication to help with said ADHD.

It’s also wild that the assertion is people with adhd can’t feed themselves without app delivery

Having servants but not having to do icky things like make eye contact or remember their names.