Why Do Psychiatric Drug Research On Children?

3 Pages 847 Words

“Why do psychiatric drug research in children?”
The Lancet
Max Wiznitzer and Robert L. Findling

“Why do psychiatric drug research in children?” by Max Wiznitzer and Robert L. Findling, found in the 9364th issue of The Lancet (pp. 1147-1148) provided a look at the reasons the FDA-approved drug fluoxetine is “a triumph for the oft-neglected field of paediatric psychopharmacology.” Fluoxetine is used to treat children ages 7-17 with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The authors describe five myths about the child aspect of psychopharmacology and just why we should care about the need for psychotropic drug research in children and adolescents.
The first myth about this subject is that children are merely little adults. The brain functions and changes differently in children than in adults. The authors state, “Neuronal systems in children may be more susceptible to environmental, psychological, and biochemical stressors than adults, but may show greater plasticity-related resilience.” The same things that cause adults stress (that children can understand) may cause the same, if not more, stress on children, yet they do not get affected the same way adults do. Thus, if a child’s brain does not develop properly and/or has neurotransmitter problems, the same drugs that are used to treat adults may not work in children.
The second myth states that there is no rationale behind a child having a disorder such as depression or OCD. If the child does not develop the correct strategies to manage the stressors s/he is subject to, the result could be a major mental disorder. The third myth says mental disorders are the same for both children and adults. Because of the different functions in a child’s brain, s/he is more unlikely to realize his/her thoughts or actions as inappropriate.
The authors describe the fourth myth as children and adults have the same drug treatment options. Because a child�...