What are Smart Drugs?
Cognitive Enhancers, Safety Issues, Ethical Dilemma
A new brand of brain enhancers has hit the market. Referred to as “smart drugs,” they enhance the brain’s supply of neurochemicals by improving oxygen consumption and stimulating nerve growth. Primarily used for treating diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Narcolepsy and ADHD, smart drugs have moved into the hands of the general population, especially university students in pursuit of the academic edge. Questions are now raised not only about the safety of these drugs, but the ethics of their use in a culture seduced by the illusion of limitless perfection.
Smart Drugs as Cognitive Enhancers
Stimulants for cognitive enhancement have existed in the market for years. Caffeine and guarana have made their rounds through the general population; their effect, however, is temporary, which is not the case with cognitive enhancers. These drugs provide evidence of sustained and powerful mental acuity.
Drugs like Modafinil have been tested by the military; another drug, donepezil, prescribed for Alzheimer’s disease, has boosted the performance of pilots in flight simulation tests. Ritalin, prescribed for ADHD, has been circulating among students as a study aid. It is estimated that between 7-25% of university students have used stimulants for a purpose other than medical prescription at least once.
Evidence also suggests that subscribers are moving beyond the student population to managers and executives driven by the need to improve performance and productivity. So acceptable have cognitive enhancers been to this New Executive Culture that some scientists have been publicly advocating their use. But are they safe?
Smart Drugs and Safety Issues
The question of safety is a serious one. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association claimed that scans of healthy men on Provigil have shown that the drug caused changes in the brain’s pleasure center, suggesting that it is habit-forming and addictive. A drug originally prescribed for treating narcolepsy, Provigil is now used by college students as an illegal study aid.
Similarly cognitive enhancers belonging to the amphetamine group are toxic, causing psychosis and depression and in some cases, cognitive deficits that are sometimes irreversible. As a group, prescription stimulants also carry the risk of increased blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
Smart Drugs and Ethical Issues
Beyond safety issues looms the larger question: are we fast approaching a brave new world of “cosmetic neurology”? A term coined by Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania, it places the whole smart drug issue within an ethical dilemma.
Are smart drugs the equivalent of steroids for the brain? Will they license healthy individuals to pop pills before exams or performance assessments? Will pushy parents insist children pop them before school tests and music recitals? Will the world become “buzzed” on overdrive productivity? If movie stars are pressured to prolong their screen life through cosmetic enhancement, will the same pressure be exerted on the workforce: will employers demand that cognitive enhancement be a condition for employment and promotion?
These are serious questions that need to be examined before smart drugs can be given legal access to the general population.
Smart Drugs
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