tintinet
New member
From BioMedNet:
http://gateways.bmn.com/sreport/previou ... 02&story=1
"If one could develop drugs that are absolutely safe, that have no down side, then I think that these would be used as memory enhancers for people who are middle-aged or younger."
At the University of Cambridge, clinical neuropsychologist Barbara Sahakian thinks her team has demonstrated what could potentially be the first such smart pill. The drug in question, modafinil or Provigil as it is marketed, has actually been around for a long time and is routinely prescribed for narcolepsy or excessive daytime sleepiness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that healthy people also take it, when they can get hold of it, to keep them alert and to allow them to work more efficiently.
In a study published earlier this year in the journal Psychopharmacology, Sahakian's group gave 60 healthy young men either 100mg or 200mg doses of modafinil, and compared their performance on a battery of neuropsychological tests to that of a control group who received a placebo. Those who took the drug showed improved performances on tests that required them to think before acting - that is, tasks involving planning and working memory, functions associated with the brain's frontal cortex.
"I don't think the significance of this [Psychopharmacology] paper has fully been realized," said Sahakian. "The drug improves cognition in healthy volunteers, and it doesn't seem to make anything worse, so you're getting enhancement without impairment." There has been some debate over whether modafinil has anything over caffeine in terms of the cognitive benefits it brings, but Sahakian says that no-one has yet ruled out that caffeine-users have a cognitive price to pay for any enhancing effect"
Price? I dunno..I think coffee makes me smarter (and I can use all the help I can get!)
http://gateways.bmn.com/sreport/previou ... 02&story=1
"If one could develop drugs that are absolutely safe, that have no down side, then I think that these would be used as memory enhancers for people who are middle-aged or younger."
At the University of Cambridge, clinical neuropsychologist Barbara Sahakian thinks her team has demonstrated what could potentially be the first such smart pill. The drug in question, modafinil or Provigil as it is marketed, has actually been around for a long time and is routinely prescribed for narcolepsy or excessive daytime sleepiness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that healthy people also take it, when they can get hold of it, to keep them alert and to allow them to work more efficiently.
In a study published earlier this year in the journal Psychopharmacology, Sahakian's group gave 60 healthy young men either 100mg or 200mg doses of modafinil, and compared their performance on a battery of neuropsychological tests to that of a control group who received a placebo. Those who took the drug showed improved performances on tests that required them to think before acting - that is, tasks involving planning and working memory, functions associated with the brain's frontal cortex.
"I don't think the significance of this [Psychopharmacology] paper has fully been realized," said Sahakian. "The drug improves cognition in healthy volunteers, and it doesn't seem to make anything worse, so you're getting enhancement without impairment." There has been some debate over whether modafinil has anything over caffeine in terms of the cognitive benefits it brings, but Sahakian says that no-one has yet ruled out that caffeine-users have a cognitive price to pay for any enhancing effect"
Price? I dunno..I think coffee makes me smarter (and I can use all the help I can get!)
