Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of TC-5619 in Adults With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD has been associated with persistent deficits in the efficient allocation of attention and supports the notion that regulation of the cholinergic system may improve these cognitive deficits in ADHD. It has been suggested that the effects of nicotine are most pronounced on tasks that demand effortful processing (Rusted and Warburton 1994). In addition, a recent theory proposes that the cholinergic system allocates additional attentional resources during tasks that are demanding (i.e. sustained attention, set shifting, etc; Sarter and Bruno 1997). Thus it may be that in ADHD, cholinergic systems are under-responsive or under-developed and thus stimulation of nicotinic receptors via nicotinic agents may result in improved cognitive performance particularly on tests requiring effortful processing.