How might psychoactive drugs affect a developing brain?
Leibenluft: “We know about the side effects that people experience, but we don’t really have data as to what these drugs do to the brain. There is data in adults that lithium has growth-promoting effects on the brain, but we don’t know what effects there are in children. There are a few studies here and there. You’ll be seeing more and more of that in the future. Within the next couple of years, we won’t have all the answers, but we will have progress. … We’re always looking to develop better treatments. Everybody worries about putting kids on medication. That’s the rock and the hard place: The first thing is, does it work or not? If you’re a parent, that’s what you want to know. You also want to know about long-term effects on the brain, but you need to help your child today.” Robert Whitaker, author, ‘Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill:’ “The brain is this incredibly complex thing, and it responds to the environment. The fro
