Methylphenidate modifies activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortex accelerating the time judgment

• Published in: Neurological sciences 2019-04, Vol.40 (4), p.829-837
• Main Authors: Farias, Tiago Lopes, Marinho, Victor, Carvalho, Valécia, Rocha, Kaline, da Silva, Paulo Ramiler Alves, Silva, Francisca, Teles, Ariel Soares, Gupta, Daya, Ribeiro, Pedro, Velasques, Bruna, Cagy, Mauricio, Bastos, Victor Hugo, Silva-Junior, Fernando, Teixeira, Silmar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Alpha Rhythm - drug effects; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Central Nervous System Stimulants - administration & dosage; Central Nervous System Stimulants - adverse effects; Central Nervous System Stimulants - pharmacology; Cortex (parietal); Cross-Over Studies; Double-Blind Method; Humans; Judgment - drug effects; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Methylphenidate; Methylphenidate - administration & dosage; Methylphenidate - adverse effects; Methylphenidate - pharmacology; Neurology; Neuroradiology; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Original Article; Parietal Lobe - drug effects; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - drug effects; Psychiatry; Psychomotor Performance - drug effects; Reaction Time - drug effects; Short term memory; Stimulants; Temporal perception; Time Perception - drug effects; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1590-1874; 1590-3478
• DOI: 10.1007/s10072-018-3699-1

Methylphenidate produces its effects via actions on cortical areas involved with attention and working memory, which have a direct role in time estimation judgment tasks. In particular, the prefrontal and parietal cortex has been the target of several studies to understand the effect of methylphenidate on executive functions and time interval perception. However, it has not yet been studied whether acute administration of methylphenidate influences performance in time estimation task and the changes in alpha band absolute power in the prefrontal and parietal cortex. The current study investigates the influence of the acute use of methylphenidate in both performance and judgment in the time estimation interpretation through the alpha band absolute power activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortex. This is a double-blind, crossover study with a sample of 32 subjects under control (placebo) and experimental (methylphenidate) conditions with absolute alpha band power analysis during a time estimation task. We observed that methylphenidate does not influence task performance ( p  > 0.05), but it increases the time interval underestimation by over 7 s ( p