Smart drugs. A smart idea?
by Patrick | Published in Faster Better Stronger, Featured | 19 Comments
Almost 7% of American university students have used prescription stimulants. Not to party all night, but to study.
The cast of characters here are familiar; Adderall, Ritalin and the newest sibling, Modafinil (aka Provigil). Smart drugs, developed for the treatment of the ill, are now finding homes in the medicine cabinets of the healthy. The question is: will they be in yours?
When I’ve told people that I’m a neuroscientist I occasionally get the response “you must be smart.” While flattered, I don’t necessarily believe this is the case. I’m just one guy who has a lot of knowledge and a lot of interest in one particular subject, in which case I’m no different than many, other, talented, people.
The real meaning behind the word “smart” lies in the fact that is relative. Are you smart? Odds are that you’re brighter than many people in your class/office. But the ego mangler is this: There are always going to be lots of people smarter than you.
A sobering thought, but it not really a big deal for most of us. But what if you are at school or in a cutthroat corporate environment, competing with all those bright sparks around you?
If you were challenging them in the sporting arena, at least you could go to the gym and practice more, but building up the old grey muscle doesn’t happen as easily or as fast as those attached to our skeleton. If only there was a shortcut.
Smart Drugs in action
Our understanding of the inner workings of the human brain has exploded over the last decade. And the drugs to treat many debilitating disorders like ADHD and narcolepsy have followed. But there are still huge gaps in our knowledge.
You may be surprised to hear that nobody really knows the exact mechanism for how the smart drugs I’ve mentioned work. We do have a general idea: Provigil and Ritalin are stimulants and slow the reabsorption, of dopamine and norepinephrine back into neurons after they are released. Retarding this re-cycling process has the effect of prolonging the actions of these neurotransmitters.
Actions which just happen to include maintaining attention and aiding the formation of new memories.
There’s always a catch though. Concurring with our lack of knowledge on how smart drugs act, is our lack of knowledge about long-term use and safety. Promisingly though, drugs like Provigil seem to be relatively innocuous –so far.
But we are just at the leading edge of the revolution in brain chemistry. It doesn’t take a neuroscientist to see that the near future holds more, and better, cognition-enhancing drugs than the handful available now. Though this future is a given, now is the right time to think about how we should use these breakthroughs.
More human than human
Anyone with more than a passing interest in sports over the last 30 years will recognize this debate has happened before. The rise of steroids, EPO and other performance enhancing drugs is considered the scourge of the athletic world. But so far the smart drugs appear to be without the devastating physical side effects that characterize sports drugs. Also drugs in sport are unambiguously categorized as cheating while smart drugs are not. Does this change how we look at them?
Also the analogy breaks down completely when we move it to the workplace. The rise of cognitive-enhancing drugs stands to alter the way all of us live our lives, while the appeal of physical performance enhancing drugs is limited to the more athletic amongst us. A survey by researchers from Harvard, Yale and Princeton published last August seems to hint that smart drugs will see general acceptance – whether they are illegitimate or not. Worth noting though is that the people within the study were only keen to take smart drugs if it they didn’t alter things they considered to be fundamental aspects of their personality, like their sense of humor or emotions – basically any mood altering drugs like anti-depressants.
Unsurprisingly, smart drugs that increased concentration, wakefulness or memory were very appealing, as these traits aren’t often seen as fundamental to our personalities.
Take two, and call me in the future
As with all new discoveries the potential for advancement as well as abuse exists. But augmenting our brains brings up potential moral and medical dilemmas. Will tweaking our mental abilities have side effects that aren’t obvious yet?
And with the gap between rich and poor ever widening, and these drugs being expensive, are we on the cusp of a new social class, the Smart-class?
Neuroscience has only just begun to reveal some of the answers surrounding these drugs but that is still only half the story, the story of molecules. To see into the future of these medicines we need to look at a bigger scale. Much bigger.
Smart drugs are now out of our hands, the hands of the scientific community, and are in yours. The question of their use and abuse now lies with you, and society as a whole.
I’ll leave you with this scenario: Would you use cognition enhancing drugs? What if others in your class/office do – could you risk being less competitive?
Feel free to drop your answers (anonymously if you like) in the comments. To catch more neuroscience news, click to subscribe to Email or RSS updates from Very Evolved.
original image by destinysagent remixed by Patrick
April 6th, 2009
April 7th, 2009at 9:56 am(#)
I’ve used Provigil during exam time at collage and I would say it helped me more than the copious amounts of coffee I used to drink.
April 7th, 2009at 10:44 am(#)
Back when I was in university I had a steady supply of Ritalin from my roommate. It kind of worked ok, but it was more trouble than it was worth because when my roomie moved out I couldn’t get anymore and had to adjust to working without it again.
April 7th, 2009at 10:49 am(#)
never used any of those but I know a couple of girls in my class that take Provigil. I don’t think it helps though because they aren’t getting the top grades or anything.
April 7th, 2009at 11:50 am(#)
If everyone else was using a smart drug in my office I think I’d wait and see if they really did streak ahead of me and also see if they had any crazy side effects.
But I’d probably try them out if they were safe.
April 7th, 2009at 1:16 pm(#)
to call any of those drugs “smart drugs” is both dangerous and just right out ignorant. they dont make you “smarter” they just make you able to concentrate more and keep alert. if your going to call these “smart” drugs you might as well make the assumption that meth would then be a genius drug! these are all addictive as have serious side effects.. but i will agree they certainly do make studying alot easier and have used them alot for both work related and recreational reasons, but have never thought of them as “smart drugs”.
April 7th, 2009at 2:32 pm(#)
They always seemed to end up a dumber idea then I thought they’d be when I was in univ.
Now, I find tangible benefits with minimal side effects from vigorous exercise and the lindt 99% chocolate bars. 1/3 of a 99% bar is at least as strong as a weak cup of coffee with non of the body buzz.
April 7th, 2009at 11:57 pm(#)
Patrick,
Thought provoking questions. How about if I took cognitive enhancing drugs just to be back to a normal level of function?
If my competitors were using, and getting a distinct advantage I guess I might have to consider, but I probably wouldn’t.
George
April 8th, 2009at 12:20 pm(#)
Thanks for the link Patrick! When I was in law school, many people took drugs like adderall, ritalin, etc. during finals time. In a competitive environment (like law school), taking the drugs is tempting. I guess I was always skeptical as to whether they could actually help you do better. If it truly improves your memory or your ability to absorb information – then I guess that would definitely help with just about anything. I would want to look at whether there is a “crash” period the way there is after consuming sugar.
If the side effects are no big deal, then my only other opposition would be legality. If these are prescription drugs that are being abused (and in my experience they are), then many people are receiving an unfair advantage over others…illegally. Good post.
April 8th, 2009at 1:37 pm(#)
This is a very important topic right now. To be honest, I’m surprised it has taken this long for the discussion of cognitive enhancers to reach the main stream media. I know NPR covered the topic in several on air discussions recently
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100254163
And The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS), a website/blog for current research on addiction, recently covered this topic in the first of a two part series in their online journal Addiction & the Humanities.
http://www.basisonline.org/2009/04/addiction-the-humanities-vol-53-.html
Personally, I do not think I could ever take Ritalin or any class of cognitive enhancing drug unless I was diagnosed with a disorder and I received a prescription from my doctor. I’m too afraid to mess with my brain chemistry. However, it does not surprise me in the least that students and adults are doing this. People are always look for an edge over their competition and colleges and universities become more competitive year after year.
May 3rd, 2009at 6:28 pm(#)
Hi, interesting post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for posting. I will definitely be subscribing to your blog.
May 22nd, 2009at 4:38 am(#)
Hi, modafinil! I remember reading about this drug! It sounds like a miracle and a dream. Being able to stay awake without side effects, cognitive deficits and no known long term damage. It would be nice if it were over the counter. There is evidence that it improves some aspects of working memory in some individuals. It might also be neuroprotective! so many studies, so confusing. but right now, seems like a perfectly safe drug with miraculous effects. say yes to modafinil (provigil)!
May 22nd, 2009at 4:44 am(#)
would be interesting to use modafinil in sleep deprivation studies to see the effects try to figure out what sleep actually does. Seems better than other methods/techniques used to stop people from sleeping. The function of sleep is so mysterious and controversial! I only see studies done on airforce pilots after 37 or 40 hours of continuous awakeness, which is actually pretty short.
June 21st, 2009at 6:20 pm(#)
I have been researching these drugs taken illegally(concerta, ritalin and aderall) There are side effects to these drugs if they are not perscribed to you. For one a person could have heart problems. That is why a person on these drugs needs to be monitored. Also a person can have suicidleness. Someone who does not have suicidal thoughts normally could start to have them. I would not take these drugs if they were not perscribed to me. Perhaps it is better to develope good study habit’s and work habit’s.
July 18th, 2009at 4:56 am(#)
Great article. This topic has been on my mind for the past few months, and it’s nice to see it covered here.
I’d like to see more hard data, but my immediate reaction to this is negative. The truth is that that many of the college students in question ARE doing this illegally- they are buying prescription medications off classmates, or lying to their doctors to obtain the drug.
Steroids could be an apt comparison- this use of “smart drugs” is new enough that no one has really addressed whether it counts as cheating or not. Universities certainly aren’t doing anything about it yet, besides throwing out some statistics.
These are not magic pills. They are serious drugs with serious health risks associated, and kids taking them without a doctor’s supervision is just stupid. Hell, my psychiatrist made me get an EKG before we even *discussed* which ADHD medication to try.
Personally speaking: As someone who may need these meds just to be functional, I can’t help but feel somewhat cheated, hearing about these students – with all the natural capability to achieve – and their “smart drugs.”
July 25th, 2009at 1:58 pm(#)
Very informative article…and very unsettling. The belief that one should be able to pop a pill to make their world shinier, faster, smarter is predominate in the fast paced societies of the West. Those that opt for hard work and determination can find themselves left behind–but those that decide to take up tablets to get ahead might find that they burn out rather quickly in the end.
August 24th, 2009at 10:47 pm(#)
Dont take any of these drugs, No test is risk having a heart attack or worse.
I HAVE A 10 YRS OF SCHOOLING AFTER HIGH SCHOOL AND BELIEVE ME, IM NOT THAT SMART.
WHEN I WAS HAVING TROUBLE IN A PARTICULAR CLASS, I POSTED UP FOR A STUDY BUDDY,,, AND WE HELPED EACH OTHER OUT…
THE ONLY DRUG (TECHNICALLY IT IS) I TOOK WAS COFFEE, AND PROTEIN SHAKES…..
REMEMBER THE ONLY EASY DAY WAS YESTERDAY!!!!!
September 2nd, 2009at 3:00 pm(#)
One thing that concerns me is the nootropics such as Phenibut. These have only been tested on animals yet people are taking them to decrease anxiety and improve mood. I worry about the longterm problems these drugs could cause.
September 6th, 2009at 8:06 pm(#)
Hello,
I think there is confusion about “smart drugs”.
Providual and Ritalin are not smart drugs, they only keep a person awake and more alert or “focused” so they can study more. These are only temporary “side effects” of these drugs.
Smart drugs or nootropics are drugs that improve your brains ability and are not the same as the above drugs.
I would not take ritalin but have concidered taking nootropics such as practicum, hygiene, Choline, and an omega 3 together.
Please excuse my misspellings(see why I am thinking about nootropics) – thanks
December 2nd, 2009at 7:34 am(#)
for all you people who think that being “focused” isnt a definite advantage mabey you should contemplate this next time your gona have a surgery. Would you want the surgeon who daydreams as he cuts you open or the one who is “focused”. The ability to focus leads to the ability to comprehend and remember the information you’ve just read, thus making you smarter. So yes they are infact “smart drugs”, and they do give an unfair advantage.