A currently much discussed drug, Ritalin, is used as a form of brain doping, but it is not at all a sure-fire way to improve grades or research results. This is according to Milena Penkowa. Professor at the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen, who recently received the prestigious EliteForsk-2009 award.<\/p>\n
\u00bbRitalin generally makes you more alert. You can handle more, especially in respect to repetitive or simple tasks, like driving. If it\u2019s a complex task, it doesn\u2019t make you better, and in some cases does quite the opposite,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n
Caffeine is the only proven \u2018brain-booster\u2019, she explains. <\/p>\n
\u00bbThe other drugs do not work. In the best case scenarios they wake you up a little or do no harm, in the worst cases they can ruin a term for a student, especially if someone thinks they can boost their way through the last, demanding, year of study by popping smart pills tha they have heard give you extra energy, memory and intelligence.\u00ab<\/p>\n
That brain doping can actually make someone more intelligent is pure sensationalism. There is no effective drug that improves the intelligence of a healthy human being, according to Milena Penkowa, who urges students to exercise caution in popping pills.<\/p>\n
Ritalin is essentially a development of amphetamine, created at the end of World War II \u2013 among other things, to keep pilots awake for long periods of time. <\/p>\n
Accounts of people taking amphetamine with fantastic effects are, however, to be taken lightly:<\/p>\n
\u00bbWhen you take amphetamine, you feel like you are fantastic, but studies show that people don\u2019t actually become better at solving complex tasks. People in fact make more mistakes on the drug than off it,\u00ab says Penkowa.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe difference is that after taking amphetamine, people think<\/em> wrong. The drug induces a mix of megalomania and detachment from reality,\u00ab she says and elaborates: \u00bbStudies indicate that the longer you have used a drug, the more frequently mistakes will occur, so if people intend to use stimulants until their final year of study, things will derail.\u00ab<\/p>\n Manipulating the brain is the dream of a kind of neurological cosmetics.<\/p>\n Aside from Ritalin, Concerta (methylphenidat), and Amphetamine, there are drugs like Modafinil, that in terms of effect resemble Ritalin. There is also Aricept (Donepezil), Reminyl (Galantamin) and Exelon (Rivastigmin), all developed for patients with Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, helping them retain information and improve memory.<\/p>\n The drug improves the memory of patients with Alzheimer\u2019s, but doesn\u2019t work in the same way for people who aren\u2019t ill. This demonstrates exactly what the problem with popping pills is, and why it does not work, says Milena Penkowa.<\/p>\n \u00bbA pill can alter the brain to function normally if you\u2019re ill and your brain isn\u2019t working as it should. If your brain is already functioning properly, it is not going to have the same supplementary effect.\u00ab<\/p>\n Milena Penkowa thinks it is na\u00efve to believe that you can enhance the brain with drugs designed for sick people. It is a question of thinking things through.<\/p>\n \u00bbWhat\u2019s the point for people, who are already badly organised, to take stimulants to stay awake for another hour – they will still say yes to the wrong things!\u00ab<\/p>\n It is a scientist’s dream to make money with brain stimulants. These dreams have become almost life-like, after studies conducted by the scientific papers Science and Nature in 2008 pointed to great potential for brain doping.<\/p>\n \u00bbWith the current focus, there is no doubt that certain branches of research are working on the<\/em> pill, that would enhance normal (healthy) people, so it could very well be that it will appear soon. It\u2019s impossible to say when, but it could happen\u00ab says Penkowa.<\/p>\n Milena Penkowa points out that doctors are sworn to only help the sick, not people who are well.<\/p>\n She brushes off the suggestion that doping tests should be made before exams. \u00bbIt\u2019s na\u00efve to talk about doping controls \u2013 there is just no drug to test for at the moment,\u00ab she says.<\/p>\n As in the case with athletes, who tend to be diagnosed with asthma more than the rest of the population, \u00bbdrug tests at exams would just lead to students suddenly \u2018developing\u2019 the disease necessary to get the medicine, so it would not have the desired effect.\u00ab Penkowa believes.<\/p>\n So don your trainers, eat well, and exercise the brain. <\/p>\n Revision is still the best brain doping we have for exams, and studying is a form of brain enhancement in itself. Your lifestyle is the best way to naturally improve brain function in a manner that is both real and measurable, explains Milena Penkowa.<\/p>\n And what about natural medicine, like Gingko-Beloba \u2013 an extract from the leaves of a Japanese tree, supposed to improve memory?<\/p>\n \u00bbGingko-beloba has been through testing, and has been proven to have certain side effects, including the inability to have children, as it affects the movement of sperm cells. It should say so on the packets in the first place, but for some reason it doesn\u2019t. It is not impossible that Gingko-Beloba has effects on our ability to observe, comprehend, learn and recognise, but in any case, there are side effects. Natural medicine? I\u2019d rather play Russian Roulette,\u00ab says Milena Penkowa.<\/p>\n There is nothing new under the sun:<\/p>\n \u00bbMore coffee, tea and coke is drunk in the world than water, and there could be a reason for this,\u00ab Milena Penkowa wraps up.<\/p>\n anfj@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pills with psychoactive effects are not a short-cut to improving exam and research results. Only one, well-known drug has these properties, others might not work in your favour, says neuroscientist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nCosmetic neurology<\/h2>\n
Brain doping – a scientist\u2019s wet dream<\/h2>\n
Testing for brain doping is ridiculous<\/h2>\n
Forget natural medicine<\/h2>\n