Students using brain-performance enhancing drugs designed for Alzheimer's and ADHD

[steven johnson]

Students in the US and the UK are turning to Alzheimer's and ADHD drugs to enhance their academic performance, just as athletes use performance enhancing drugs. There are reportedly 27 major agents currently available that boost brain performance, including 10 dietary supplements and 17 pharmaceutical drugs.

So are students going to have to pee in a cup if they get particularly good test results, just as athletes do?

Drugs normally used for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are being used by students around the world to improve their academic performance.

In some US universities, a quarter of students are reportedly using "smart drugs", and there is anecdotal evidence of increasing use on British campuses.

Vince Cakic, from the department of psychology at the University of Sydney, writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, said today that smart drugs, or "nootropics", were highly attractive to students and nearly impossible to ban.

He said the failures and inconsistencies in the anti-drugs policy in sport could be mirrored when it comes to the use of smart drugs in the academic world.


Students turn to 'smart drugs' to boost grades

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. Adderall was a big one when I was in college a couple yrs ago.

Alot of students I knew were on it and swore by its ability to help them cram for tests and remember the info.
Must've worked because they all got good MCAT scores and partied just as much as the rest of us.

I knew football players who would use it too.
Made it easier to focus on the game and not worry about remembering plays, I suppose.

[hedgehog]

2. From what I've read , the results are questrionable. Some of these drugs allow

people to stay up for hours, but if a report or essay gets written, it tends to be slightly odd. For example, entire paragraphs may be devoted to a minor detail.

Truth is, people may use these drugs to get the grades, but what are they learning?

Ten years after you've graduated, who cares what grades you got in school?

[paulsby]

3. i've used smart drugs before. they are legal and they work

although many of those who read my posts might beg to differ :P

[wuvuj]

4. Works...?

http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item00922/Cognitex-with-Pregnenolone-NeuroProtection-Complex.html

http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item00788/Acetyl-L-Carnitine-Arginate.html

http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item01338/Blueberry-Extract-with-Pomegranate-CocoaGold.html

note: not posted as spam...looking at the research behind it

[LeftishBrit]

5. It is not at all clear that they have much real effect on people without dementia

Those drugs that do 'work' tend to work by making people more awake and able to concentrate and work for longer (plain old caffeine has been used that way for a long time) rather than really making them more intelligent.

Also, most of these drugs have potentially serious side effects, and should *not* be taken casually or without a doctor's supervision.

[BuddhaGirl]

6. smart drugs have been around for years

I have taken piracetam, aniracetam and others and they definitely work - I have better focus and retention when I use them.

[ki83760]

7. Not sure that's a good idea.

[wuvuj]

8. Methods and nutrients...

http://www.naturalnews.com/z027154_Vitamin_D_health_the_brain.html