What is ADHD?
A quick primer on executive function, dopamine, and norepinephrine — plus creator-made explainer clips.
Click a brain region
An interactive side-profile brain diagram. Tap a region to see what acts there.
ADHD content creators
Instagram and YouTube creators worth following for ADHD content.
Explore substances
Filter and browse research on vitamins, supplements, pharmaceuticals, and more.
About this site
Where the research comes from, how it's reviewed, and what the evidence badges mean.
What is ADHD?
ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting executive function — the brain systems responsible for attention regulation, impulse control, working memory, and planning. It shows up differently person to person: some people are more inattentive, some more hyperactive-impulsive, and many are a mix of both.
It's not a lack of willpower or discipline. Brain imaging and genetics research both point to real, measurable differences in how dopamine and norepinephrine signaling work in ADHD brains, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and striatum — which is exactly what the brain diagram in the "Click a brain region" section is built around.
The clips below are a rolling mix of short, creator-made explainers — useful for getting a feel for lived experience, not a substitute for the research entries in "Explore substances".
Click a brain region
Simplified, illustrative side-profile diagram, facing left (front of the brain on the left) — not to anatomical scale. Each region links to the substances known to act there.
Tap or click a region to see what acts there. ✨
ADHD content creators
Instagram and YouTube creators worth following for ADHD content.
Explore substances
Evidence: RCT Observational Mixed Animal Anecdotal
How this site works
This is a research reference, not medical advice. Everything here — including the illicit-drug entries — is presented to summarize published research on mechanism and evidence quality, never as a recommendation to use, combine, or stop any substance. Legal status varies by country. Talk to a clinician about your own situation.
Where the research comes from
New studies arrive automatically: saved search alerts (currently covering topics like caffeine, tobacco/nicotine, and omega-3, alongside the core ADHD medications) email new results in, and a Worker parses them into a review queue. Nothing is published straight from an inbox.
The review queue
Every incoming study sits as "pending" until a human reviewer checks the auto-extracted title, authors, and abstract (email parsing is best-effort and sometimes needs correcting), tags it to the right substance, and approves or rejects it. Only approved studies appear on substance pages.
What the evidence badges mean
Each substance and each individual claim carries an evidence-strength badge — RCT, Observational, Mixed, Animal, or Anecdotal. This reflects the quality of the best available evidence, not a guarantee of effectiveness or safety. An RCT badge means randomized controlled trials exist; it doesn't mean the effect size is large or that the substance is risk-free.
The brain diagram
The interactive brain is a simplified, illustrative diagram — not to anatomical scale. It exists to make mechanism-of-action research explorable: click a region to see which substances are documented to act there and how.
Categories
Substances are grouped into vitamins, supplements, peptides, pharmaceuticals, caffeine, illicit drugs, and an "other" bucket for things that don't fit neatly (like nicotine). Presence in the illicit category is not an endorsement — it's included because real research exists and hiding it would make this site less useful, not more responsible.