ADHD Resources

GLOSSARY

1. Adderall

Adderall is a pharmaceutical psychostimulant comprised of mixed amphetamine salts that is primarily used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. Adderall has also been used to successfully treat severe cases of treatment-resistant depression. It is a Schedule II controlled substance, meaning that it has been deemed to have a high potential for abuse and addiction despite genuine medical uses. ...more details

2. ADHD

A common developmental and behavioral disorder. It is characterized by poor concentration, distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness that are inappropriate for the child's age. Children and adults with ADHD are easily distracted by sights and sounds in their environment, cannot concentrate for long periods of time, are restless and impulsive, or have a tendency to daydream and be slow to complete tasks.

3. Amphetamine

A sympathomimetic amine that has a stimulating effect on both the central and peripheral nervous systems. It relaxes both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and bronchial muscle, contracts the sphincter of the urinary bladder, and depresses the appetite. Abuse of this drug and its salts may lead to dependence, characterized by strong psychic dependence, to marked tolerance.

4. Anger

Anger is a an emotion. It is a psychophysiological response to pain, perceived suffering or distress, or threat thereof, which has been uncalled for or unjustly brought upon oneself or others, at least from a subjective viewpoint. A threat may be real, discussed, or imagined

5. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A common developmental and behavioral disorder. It is characterized by poor concentration, distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness that are inappropriate for the child's age. Children and adults with ADHD are easily distracted by sights and sounds in their environment, cannot concentrate for long periods of time, are restless and impulsive, or have a tendency to daydream and be slow to complete tasks.

6. Behavioral Therapy

Behavior modification is a technique of altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the extinction of maladaptive behavior through positive and negative punishment.

7. Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a form of alternative medicine that involves measuring a subject's bodily processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, galvanic skin response (sweating), and muscle tension and conveying such information to him or her in real-time in order to raise his or her awareness and conscious control of the related physiological activities.

8. Ephedra

Ephedra is an alkaloid chemical compound traditionally obtained from the plant Ephedra sinica. E. sinica, known in Chinese as ma huang (麻黃; pinyin: má huáng), has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years for the treatment of asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold. Several additional species belonging to the genus Ephedra have traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, and are a possible candidate for the Soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion.[3] Native Americans and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed from an Ephedra, called Mormon Tea.

9. Hormone

A hormone (from Greek όρμή - "to set in motion") is a chemical messenger that carries a signal from one cell (or group of cells) to another. All multicellular organisms produce hormones. The function of hormones is to carry information to the target cells; the action of hormones is determined by the pattern of secretion and response of the receiving tissue - the signal transduction response.

10. Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by an inability to sleep and/or inability to remain asleep for a reasonable period. Insomniacs typically complain of being unable to close their eyes or "rest their mind" for more than a few minutes at a time. Both organic and nonorganic insomnia constitute a sleep disorder. It can be caused by fear, stress, anxiety, medications, herbs, caffeine, depression, bipolar disorder, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, unsatisfactory sex life and sometimes occurs for no apparent reason. An overactive mind or physical pain may also be causes. Finding the underlying cause of insomnia is usually necessary to cure it. Insomnia can be common after the loss of a loved one, even months or a year after the death, if they are not grieving correctly (pretending they are over it when they are not).

11. Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant drug which induces a strong feeling of euphoria and is highly psychologically addictive. Pure methamphetamine is a colorless crystalline solid, sold on the streets as glass, ice, or crystal. It is also sold as less pure crystalline powder called crank or speed, or in rock formation termed tweak, dope, or raw. Methamphetamine was first synthesized in 1919 in Japan by chemist A. Ogata.

12. Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback (NFB), also called neurotherapy, neurobiofeedback or EEG biofeedback (EEGBF) is a therapy technique that presents the user with realtime feedback on brainwave activity, as measured by electrodes on the scalp, typically in the form of a video display, sound or vibration. The aim is to enable conscious control of brainwave activity. If brain activity changes in the direction desired by the therapist, a positive "reward" feedback is given to the individual, and if it regresses, either a negative feedback or no feedback is given (depending on the protocol). Rewards can be as simple as a change in pitch of a tone or as complex as a certain type of movement of a character in a video game. This experience could be called operant conditioning for internal states.

13. Ritalin

Methylphenidate (MPH) is a prescription stimulant commonly used to treat Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. It is also one of the primary drugs used to treat the daytime drowsiness symptoms of narcolepsy and chronic fatigue syndrome. Brand names of drugs that contain methylphenidate include Ritalin (Ritalina, Rilatine, Ritalin LA (Long Acting)), Attenta, Concerta (a sustained release capsule), Metadate, Methylin and Rubifen. Focalin is a preparation containing only dextro-methylphenidate, rather than the usual racemic dextro- and levo-methylphenidate mixture of other formulations. A newer way of taking methylphenidate is by using a transdermal patch (under the brand name Daytrana), similar to those used for hormone replacement therapy and nicotine release.