Smart pills

1. Introduction
To date there has been little agreement
on the desirability of widespread
consumption of cognitive and/or
motivational enhancers. Questions have
been raised about the safety of
prolonged ingestion of so-called “smart
pills’’. This concern has grown in light
of recent studies indicating that the use
of smart pills is increasing among
college students and professionals in
various fields (1). These pills are used to
improve cognition- and motivation-
related functions. On this poster, we
present some potential benefits and
drawbacks of this development.
Research Question
It would not be ethically sound to ignore
the rising use of smart pills. Therefore,
this poster aims to address the following
questions: What are the potential
benefits and drawbacks of widespread
use of cognitive and/or motivational
pharmaceutical enhancers?
Furthermore, recent studies have shown
that the main reasons for taking smart
pills lie on an emotional rather than
cognitive level, the second question that
will be addressed is: Are there
alternative approaches to optimize
human performance?
Conclusion: Is pharmaceutical enhancement dirty?
Summarizing, this poster has investigated some pro’s, con’s and alternatives of
cognitive and emotional pharmaceutical enhancement. The findings suggests that
smart pills offer potential improvements in attention, alertness energy, and
motivation. On the other hand, there were also potential side-effects and the long-
term effects are unknown. Luckily, smart pills are not the only road to become a
superhuman. Well-researched and effective alternatives are easily available to a
large part of the population, for example physical exercise, sleep, nutrition, and
TDCS seem to offer equal or even greater benefits.
Since, we also found that enhancement of motivation is a key effects of stimulants
it would be interesting to investigate the role of environment in determining the
need for motivation enhancing drugs.
Bianca Dijkstra - Isabella Atzeni - Sebastiaan van Jole
Literature cited
1.
2. Enhancement stimulants: perceived motivational and
cognitive advantages.
3. Exercise: A behavioral intervention to enhance brain health
and plasticity.
4.
5.
6.
7.
“A latte with a shot of ritalin please!”
Honours College
Module “Sociology of Mental Health”
Pro’s
Considerable amount of literature has
been published on neuro- enhancing
drugs. These studies have focused on
cognitive enhancement and found that
primarily attention has increased.
However, more recent studies have also
shown significant emotion-related
effects of these drugs, including an
increase in alertness, energy and
motivation. (2)
Con’s
The most significant disadvantage is the
lack of studies concerning the long-term
effects of smart pills on the development
of the brain and other side effects. Also,
more widespread use can result in
societal coercion. Additionally, a sense
of accomplishment may be diminished,
because hard work is replaced by using
drugs.
Complementary
alternatives
Naturally, it is beyond the scope of this
poster to list all possible alternative
approaches to enhancing brain power. A
few examples will be presented though.
An appealing alternative to neuro-
enhancing drugs is physical exercise.
Studies have shown that this enhances
brain health and plasticity (3).
Moreover, sleep plays an important role
in de consolidation of memories and the
maintenance of mental well-being (4,5).
Thirdly, strong evidence suggests that
nutrition influences cognitive and
emotional performance (6). Finally, the
emerging market for devices that non-
invasively deliver electrical current
through the brain offers potential
benefits too (7).
A review of the desirability of widespread use of smart
pills