Amisulpride for ADHD
Amisulpride is an atypical antipsychotic.
Amisulpride is a dopamine receptor antagonist.1
Low doses (e.g. 100 mg): primarily blockade of the presynaptic (transmitter nerve) D2 and D3 reuptake receptors. This leaves more dopamine in the synaptic cleft for uptake at the postsynapse (receptor nerve), which can alleviate ADHD symptoms.
High dosage: Blockade of the postsynaptic D2/D3 receptors in the limbic system.
At higher doses (400 mg), amisulpride can significantly improve the excessive affinity to drug-associated stimuli (cue reactivity) and the inability to tolerate delayed rewards (reward delay aversion). While cue reactivity was improved as well as by a non-specific opioid receptor antagonist (naltrexone, 50 mg), the improvement in reward delay aversion was significantly better with amisulpride.2
Amisulpride is primarily used for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is characterized by a lack of dopamine with regard to the negative symptoms and an excess of dopamine in the relevant areas of the brain with regard to the positive symptoms.
Some of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia can also be found in a similar form in the spectrum of ADHD symptoms.
Amisulpride is not a typical ADHD medication.
Edel, Vollmoeller (2006): Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung bei Erwachsenen, Seite 45 ↥
Weber, Beck-Schimmer, Kajdi, Müller, Tobler, Quednow (2016): Dopamine D2/3- and μ-opioid receptor antagonists reduce cue-induced responding and reward impulsivity in humans. Transl Psychiatry. 2016 Jul 5;6(7):e850. doi: 10.1038/tp.2016.113 ↥