Rankings / Cognitive — Prescription Stimulants
Adderall (amphetamine salts)
Cognitive · Prescription stimulant
Tier B-
What this is
Gold-standard ADHD treatment. In healthy individuals, benefits mostly limited to specific tasks (working memory, sustained attention) with small effect sizes. Tolerance develops. Cardiovascular risk is real, especially long-term.
Mechanism
Mixed amphetamine salts; potent DAT/NET reuptake inhibitor and TAAR1 agonist; also reverses transporter direction to force catecholamine release; elevated dopamine and norepinephrine in PFC
Dose & route
IR: 5-40 mg/day in divided doses; XR: 10-30 mg/day
Citations
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25280017/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924977X20302145
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21550356/
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This is an independent synthesis of published research by a non-clinician. Scores are opinions supported by citations, not prescriptions. See the full disclaimer and methodology for how this score was produced and what it does and doesn't mean.