Drug enhancers are those drugs that can improve memory or mental agility by increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain. They are very useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, narcolepsy and ADHD. However they can also be misused by those who seek to gain a mental edge such as college students. Recently Nature magazine conducted an informal survey and found that 20 percent of respondents admitted to using cognitive enhancers for non-medical reasons. Many more in the poll approved of non medical use of enhancers.
History
Drug enhancers are generally classified as psychostimulants. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), stimulants were formally used in the treatment of asthma and other respiratory illness as well as obesity and neurological disorders. Other illnesses were also treated with psychostimulants but their use was decreased in recent years because of the danger of addiction and abuse.Psychostimulants like Ritalin and Adderall are used to treat adults and children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, narcolepsy and depression when other treatments have failed.
Function
Although much is still not known about how some of these enhancers work, science has suggested that for some people they improve memory and the brain's ability to focus. In the case of Ritalin, it affects the the production of dopamine and norepinephrine, which are signaling molecules and fill the spaces between neurons. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has stated that basically these signaling molecules work to suppress the background noise in the brain allowing for a greater degree of focus.
Abuse
Adderall and Ritalin are two of the most abused enhancers. According to Dr. Eric Heligenstein, head of psychiatry for the University of Wisconsin health services, these drugs are basically amphetamines and have a similar effect of speed on the central nervous system. Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, an emergency room physician at Jackson Memorial Hospital at the University of Miami, was quoted recently in a WebMD article as saying in part, "...people who take it continuously for a long time have hallucinations." According to the Department of Health and Human Services a six-fold increase in the amount of drug abuse emergency room visits is linked to Ritalin use.
Side Effects
According to the NIDA, the side effects of these stimulants is that they produce certain types of neurotransmitters, which can increase blood pressure and heart rate to a dangerous level. Other negative effects can include critically high-body temperature, irregular heart beat, cardiovascular failure and lethal seizures. Feelings of hostility and paranoia are also negative side effects, which can occur after only a brief time of high dosage use. Fatigue, depression and disruption in sleeping patterns can are other affects.
Ethics
Ritalin and Adderall are not the only drug enhancers. Aricept is used in the treatment of Alzheimers and Propranolol is used in treating Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. To date there are no memory enhancing drugs for people without neurological afflictions. However several drug companies are working on memory enhancing drugs that could be used by normal people as well as by stroke victims. One such drug, Fasudil, has shown some positive results in rats. The ethical question remains, "Should normal people take memory enhancing drugs to improve their performance?"
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