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REMEMBER MORE - THINK FASTER - BE WISER
Wouldn't it be nice if you could swallow a pill rather than study for a test? Are there such "smart pills"? Perhaps you could take a pill and get a "mental tune-up" if you are feeling a bit dull.
Actually, researchers are studying substances that may improve mental abilities. These substances are called "cognitive enhancers" or "smart drugs" or "nootropics." ("Nootropic" comes from Greek - "noos" = mind and "tropos" = changed, toward, turn). The supposed effects of cognitive enhancement can be several things. For example, it could mean improvement of memory, learning, attention, concentration, problem solving, reasoning, social skills, decision making and planning.
In most cases, cognitive enhancers have been used to treat
people with neurological or mental disorders, but there is a growing
number of healthy, "normal" people who use these substances in hopes of
getting smarter. Although there are many companies that make "smart"
drinks, smart power bars and diet supplements containing certain "smart"
chemicals, there is little evidence to suggest that these products really
work. Results from different laboratories show mixed results; some labs
show positive effects on memory and learning; other labs show no effects.
There are very few well-designed studies using normal healthy people.
Let's look at the evidence regarding cognitive enhancing
substances.
Some smart drugs can be found in health food stores; others
are imported or are drugs that are intended for other disorders such as
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. There are many Internet web
sites, books, magazines and newspaper articles detailing the supposed
effects of smart drugs. There are also plenty of advertisements and
mail-order businesses that try to sell "smart drugs" to the public.
However, rarely do these businesses or the popular press report results
that show the failure of smart drugs to improve memory or learning.
Rather, they try to show that their products have miraculous effects on
the brain and can improve mental functioning. Wouldn't it be easy to
learn something by "popping a pill" or drinking a soda laced with a smart
drug? This would be much easier than taking the time to study. Feeling
dull? Take your brain in for a mental tune up by popping a pill!
Some data suggest that cognitive enhancers do improve some
types of learning and memory, but many other data say these substances
have no effect. The strongest evidence for these substances is for the
improvement of cognitive function in people with brain injury or disease
(for example, Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury). Although
"popular" books and companies that sell smart drugs will try to convince
you that these drugs work, the evidence for any significant effects of
these substances in normal people is weak. There are also important
side-effects that must be considered. Many of these substances affect
neurotransmitter systems in the central nervous system. The effects of
these chemicals on neurological function and behavior is unknown.
Moreover, the long-term safety of these substances has not been adequately
tested. Also, some substances will interact with
other substances. A substance such as the
herb ma-huang may be dangerous if a person stops taking it suddenly; it
can also cause heart attacks, stroke, and sudden death. Finally, it is
important to remember that products labeled as "natural" do not make them
"safe."
Many of the positive effects of cognitive enhancers have been
seen in experiments using rats. For example, scientists can train rats on
a specific test, such as maze running, and then see if the "smart drug"
can improve the rats' performance. It is difficult to see how many of
these data can be applied to human learning and memory. For example, what
if the "smart drug" made the rat hungry? Wouldn't a hungry rat run faster
in the maze to receive a food reward than a non-hungry rat? Maybe the rat
did not get any "smarter" and did not have any improved memory. Perhaps
the rat ran faster simply because it was hungrier. Therefore, it was the
rat's motivation to run the maze, not its increased cognitive ability that
affected the performance. Thus, it is important to be very careful when
interpreting changes observed in these types of animal learning and memory
experiments.
One symptom of Alzheimer's disease is a reduced brain level
of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. It is thought that
an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease might be to increase brain
levels of acetylcholine. Another possible treatment would be to slow the
death of neurons that contain acetylcholine. Two drugs, Tacrine and
Donepezil, are both inhibitors of the enzyme (acetylcholinesterase) that
breaks down acetylcholine. These drugs are approved in the US for
treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Here are some questions for you to think about IF and WHEN smart drugs are developed:
Copyright © 1996-2020, Eric H. Chudler, University of Washington