Ritalin (methylphenidate) may help improve brain function in cocaine addicts, helping them with craving and self-control, according to an imaging study performed by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine and published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Methylphenidate works in a similar fashion as cocaine, stimulating the release of dopamine in the brain, but taken orally, is less likely to be abused, because it delays use-pleasure cycle.
"Orally administered methylphenidate increases dopamine in the brain, similar to cocaine, but without the strong addictive properties," said lead researcher Rita Goldstein, PhD.
"We wanted to determine whether such substitutive properties, which are helpful in other replacement therapies such as using nicotine gum instead of smoking cigarettes or methadone instead of heroin, would play a role in enhancing brain connectivity between regions of potential importance for intervention in cocaine addiction."
Goldstein added that cocaine use accounted for 400,000 emergency room visits in 2009 alone.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.