Cognition Enhancer Research

oschobero writes to tell us the Economist has a look at pharmaceutical research as it applies to cognition enhancers. While the research is obviously focused on things like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and schizophrenia, the resulting drugs may also have a benefit to healthy minds. "Provigil and Ritalin really do enhance cognition in healthy people. Provigil, for example, adds the ability to remember an extra digit or so to an individual's working memory (most people can hold seven random digits in their memory, but have difficulty with eight). It also improves people's performance in tests of their ability to plan. Because of such positive effects on normal people, says the report, there is growing use of these drugs to stave off fatigue, help shift-workers, boost exam performance and aid recovery from the effects of long-distance flights."

Comments

Re:Oh, great.....

[Hojima]

I don't think you read correctly. Natural is generally better than synthesized (when it comes to drugs) because of the deviations that synthesized have. Also, natural drugs achieve an optimized concentration as well. A perfect example was already mentioned: steroids. Humans generate a natural amount of testosterone. Some generate a LOT more than others. But when you synthesize a different concentration of a testosterone that your body is not used to, a lot of problems can occur. Yes, the difference between organic crops and normal crops is negligent, but when you look at drugs that are natural and synthesized, you can't deny that there is a difference in quantum and chemical structure, and if you think that it makes no difference in the chemical reactions in your body, you're fooling yourself.