Friday, April 11, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version

Scientists take drugs to boost brain power: study

by Physorg

Thanks to SPS for the link.

http://www.physorg.com/news126976444.html

Scientists take drugs to boost brain power: study Twenty percent of scientists admit to using performance-enhancing prescription drugs for non-medical reasons, according to a survey released Wednesday by Nature, Britain's top science journal.

The overwhelming majority of these med-taking brainiacs said they indulged in order to "improve concentration," and 60 percent said they did so on a daily or weekly basis.

The 1,427 respondents -- most of them in the United States -- completed an informal, online survey posted on the "Nature Network" Web forum, a discussion site for scientists operated by the Nature Publishing Group.

More than a third said that they would feel pressure to give their children such drugs if they knew other kids at school were also taking them.

"These are academics working in scientific institutions," Ruth Francis, who handles press relations for the group, told AFP.

The survey focused on three drugs widely available by prescription or via the Internet.

Ritalin, a trade name for methylphenidate, is a stimulant normally used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, especially in children. Modafinil -- marketed at Provigil -- is prescribed to treat sleep disorders, but is also effective against general fatigue and jet lag.

Both medications are common currency on college campuses, used as "study aids" to sharpen performance and wakefulness.

"It doesn't seem to be causing too much trouble since most [students] use the drugs not to get high but to function better," Brian Doyle, a clinical pyschiatrist at Georgetown University Medical Centre, told a US newspaper last month. "When exams are over, they go back to normal and stop abusing the drugs."

Other experts expressed more concern about what the survey revealed.

"It alerted us to the fact that scientists, like others, are looking for short cuts," Wilson Compton, director of epidemiology and prevention research at the US National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), told AFP.

Ritalin, he noted, can become addictive, even if it has proven safe and effective when taken as prescribed.

The third class of drugs included in the survey was beta blockers, prescribed for cardiac arrhythmia and popular among performers due to its anti-anxiety effect.

Of the 288 scientists who said that had taken one or more of these drugs outside of a medical context, three-fifths had used Ritalin, and nearly half Provigil. Only 15 percent were fans of beta blockers.

More than a third procured their meds via the Internet, with the rest buying them in pharmacy.

Other reasons cited for popping pills were focusing on a specific task, and counteracting jet lag.

Almost 70 percent of 1,258 respondents who answered the question said they would be willing to risk mild side effects in order to "boost your brain power" by taking cognitive-enhancing drugs.

Half of the drug-takers reported such effects, including headaches, jitteriness, anxiety and sleeplessness.

Wilson of the NIDA expressed surprise at the rate of substance abuse shown, but cautioned that the survey did not meet rigorous scientific standards.

"This is a volunteer poll of people responding to an Internet survey. There might be an over-representation," he said.

But previous research has shown that, as the boundary between treating illness and enhancing wellbeing continues to blur, taking performance-boosting products continues to gain in cultural acceptance.

"Like the rise in cosmetic surgery, use of cognitive enhancers is likely to increase as bioethical and psychological concerns are overcome," opined Nature in a commentary.

In the survey, 80 percent of all the scientists -- even those who did not use these drugs -- defended the right of "healthy humans" to take them as work boosters, and more than half said their use should not be restricted, even for university entrance exams.

More than 57 percent of the respondents were 35 years old or younger.

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1. Comment #158843 by Darwin's badger on April 11, 2008 at 5:42 am

I'd be very wary of taking anything that I didn't precisely know the long-term risk of. Mind you, I'm in my thirties. When I was student age, I'd have given plenty of things a go that I wouldn't go near now. At least they're using them to learn, not to get out of their faces.

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2. Comment #158863 by SomeDanGuy on April 11, 2008 at 6:06 am

And this doesn't even include caffeine. Imagine the rates of stimulant drug usage in science if you included coffee.
Speaking of which, I have a long day in the lab ahead and I'm rather tired at the moment....

Other Comments by SomeDanGuy

3. Comment #158864 by nalfeshnee on April 11, 2008 at 6:07 am

Since this was an "informal online survey", who's saying these people are, in fact, scientists?

Any what does that word mean, anyway? Aged and respectable professors? Medical school freshmen?

Seems all a bit irrelevant if you ask me.

Other Comments by nalfeshnee

4. Comment #158865 by Gymnopedie on April 11, 2008 at 6:10 am

I've known a lot of people who abused those stimulants like crazy. One of the people would describe the overwhelming desire to learn when he's on the drugs, and we would go through the course of 5 guitar lessons in 1 hour.

If half the kids at a school are taking these drugs, then do you let your kids take the drugs or let them slip behind? It is an interesting ethical dilemma and one that I think will become far more relevant in the next 20 years.

Other Comments by Gymnopedie

5. Comment #158866 by Partisan on April 11, 2008 at 6:10 am

I need to get me some of these, my typical late-night study fare is a 4-pack of relentless and some pro-plus.

Other Comments by Partisan

6. Comment #158867 by marv78rpm on April 11, 2008 at 6:12 am

Before I retired as a veterinarian, I had access to "human" drugs as well, and for a good 40 years I have used d-amphetamine in small (and I mean small!) doses from time to time to keep awake in dull meetings, alert during seminars, and on long car drives. Never to get high, just to serve a purpose. It is quick to take effect, works great, and lasts 6 hours at the very most, which is all I ever want. Just can't take it past about 7PM, or it will interfere with sleep. Now that I am retired, I have to make my "stash" last, and my bad luck will be to outlive it. When that happens, I will miss it.

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7. Comment #158880 by Bonzai on April 11, 2008 at 6:26 am

Well scientists are just people, they eat and shit. Since overall there are many people in the society at large abusing prescription drugs I don't see why scientists would be different. If anything they have even more incentive than Joe Blow because the publish or perish culture of the academe makes science very much like a competitive sport.

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8. Comment #158895 by MedMonkey on April 11, 2008 at 6:40 am

I'm a medical freshman, and I am currently hopped up on copius amounts of coffee! Praise performance enhancing drugs!

... although ... instead of studying, here I am on this forum ... maybe my concentration is slipping? Anyone have some adderall?

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9. Comment #158898 by Buddha on April 11, 2008 at 6:42 am

I too abused amphetamine at college. Unfortunately, rather than hitting the books and revising, it just gave me the urge to drink obnoxious quantities of lager and jump about to very loud techno.

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10. Comment #158900 by Bonzai on April 11, 2008 at 6:44 am

lthough ... instead of studying, here I am on this forum ... maybe my concentration is slipping? Anyone have some adderall?

I can certainly relate to that. The other night my roommate gave me two tablets of dextroamphetamine to boost my concentration and help me to stay up late to read some papers and do some work. I ended up not sleeping for 48 hours and spending most of my time here... I will never touch that stuff again.

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11. Comment #158924 by headcold on April 11, 2008 at 7:13 am

Are they safe to buy online? Sorry, but now I want to try some brain boosters. Any tips on finding them?

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12. Comment #158928 by MedMonkey on April 11, 2008 at 7:21 am

Nothing is safe to buy online! These things are actually very addictive. I was being facetious with my last post. I haven't used adderall since high school, even though many of my classmates do, and both of my siblings have perscriptions. The long-term side effects are not well understood at this point, but they are bound to be deleterious. Even coffee has adverse side-effects, and I try to limit my intake and don't drink any on the weekends.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it :)

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13. Comment #158936 by Bigorra on April 11, 2008 at 7:44 am

The survey shows only the behavior of those who answered it, and nobody should pretend the numbers touted here have anything to do with an actual percentage of scientists who take drugs for performance. We all know that people in all walks of life take drugs not prescribed for them, what psychologists call "self-medicating", so the idea that scientists are regular people when it comes to drug use is no surprise.

I think the only reason that it is a story in the first place is the perception that only athletes take drugs to boost performance. A couple of years in a call center exposed me to many people who took various combinations of drugs just to keep focused on boring customer service, because the department heads kept detailed time logs. Representatives wanted to stay constantly on the phone and, given the mind-numbing nature of the work, drugs like adderall and ritalin became an answer for many people. They either bought them from a dealer or took them out of their children's prescriptions.

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14. Comment #158948 by atkinson on April 11, 2008 at 8:11 am

I can see the new rules now: require a urine specimen before award of any scientific or literary prize to ensure the absence of performance-enhancing medication.

Other Comments by atkinson

15. Comment #158963 by Frankus1122 on April 11, 2008 at 8:53 am

Since this was an "informal online survey", who's saying these people are, in fact, scientists?

The survey shows only the behavior of those who answered it

This kind of thing really bothers me. Why are such surveys even conducted? The results cannot be considered accurate so what is the point?
People/news media pick up the 'results' and go from there. But the 'results' may or may not be accurate so they base opinions on ... what?

Maybe these scientists should take more performance enhancing drugs to actually design experimentts that will produce some worthwhile, accurate results.

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16. Comment #158967 by Pattern Seeker on April 11, 2008 at 9:02 am

Uhmm...drugs are bad, m'kay.

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17. Comment #158974 by DamnDirtyApe on April 11, 2008 at 9:13 am

Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol....

Damn - Science is Rock & Roll!

And let's not forget the inventor of LSD. Who was actually rather fond of his own discovery.

Other Comments by DamnDirtyApe

18. Comment #158977 by Bonzai on April 11, 2008 at 9:14 am

Scientists are actually cool because they are high too. Maybe this finding will recruit more young people to science than all popular science lectures that Richard Dawkins will ever give,

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19. Comment #158978 by DamnDirtyApe on April 11, 2008 at 9:17 am

That, and I suspect Bill Hicks would sleep very, very soundly to such news.

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20. Comment #158983 by Dr Benway on April 11, 2008 at 9:31 am

I've always been curious to try LSD. But there are two problems:

1. The people I could connect with to get me some likely wouldn't keep quiet about it. I have one of those jobs where you just can't get in trouble.

2. The logistics of including my husband, but not at the same time as me. He's very sensitive to stimulants. Candy bars used to put him into atrial fibrilation until he had heart surgery.

Well, it's something on my bucket list.

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21. Comment #158986 by sarah95 on April 11, 2008 at 9:41 am

I can't wait for a parody of something like "Sex, Drugs, & Science". Guys in labcoats falling all over the place, throwing microscopes out windows and reciting the periodic table in a drunken melody. They could have RD do an interview reminiscing about the bad ol' days when he tried to get into the Royal Society by selling drugs...((only joking!!!))

I agree with above posters: This whole survey sounds a bit wooly to me. The "results" shouldn't be taken too seriously in any online volunteer poll. Besides, self-medication with concentration drugs in academia is not something that needs to be painted as a scandal regardless.

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22. Comment #158994 by DamnDirtyApe on April 11, 2008 at 10:01 am

To be completely honest, I've actually never taken drugs in my life (with the exception of alcohol, and I don't get drunk terribly frequently).

Well, the technicality of that depends on your stance on Asthma medication. As I occaisionally need that to live.

Other Comments by DamnDirtyApe

23. Comment #159005 by lozzer on April 11, 2008 at 10:25 am

Hmm sounds interesting.
I used to smoke obnoxious amounts of cannabis.Isn't very healthy for the ole noggin though.It does however increase creativity and it gives you the illusion that your thinking at a thousand miles an hour.

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24. Comment #159010 by headcold on April 11, 2008 at 10:37 am

Using hallucinogenic drugs coincides directly with my final break from religion and associated metaphysically supported stuffs. After realizing that while tripping on mushrooms or DXM I went through a variety of emotional states, from great fear to extreme joy and "genuine" religious experiences, I finally started to understand that maybe I was just stimulating a part of my brain that made me hallucinate into thinking that there was something divine in the world.

It was then that I realized there was no magic in the world, but now, a year later, I'm finally coming to terms with that truth. It sucks that I had to de-brainwash myself, but drugs were the path that I chose.

Other Comments by headcold

25. Comment #159036 by 82abhilash on April 11, 2008 at 11:13 am

Their body, their life. All I care is if you want to call yourself a scientist, do good science. That is all.

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26. Comment #159044 by movingshadow on April 11, 2008 at 11:18 am

big deal, "everybody" uses drugs to improve concentration. the legality of coffee and tea makes little difference to me

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27. Comment #159045 by liddlefeesh on April 11, 2008 at 11:22 am

Do you think that Richard Dawkins had to give a urine sample before receiving the Deschner prize?

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28. Comment #159050 by Lammie on April 11, 2008 at 11:30 am

I am not surprised by these findings - In modern day academia the expectations that the university administrators have for the academics have increased exponentially. The charm of the traditional academic life, to which many of us oldies in our 50's were attracted, was lost when we were expected to become superstars in many areas beyond which we have training. Often good researchers are shoddy administrators and now there are accountabilities for that, increasing the pressures of the job. Therefore it is not surprising that so many scientists turn to performance enhancing substances to help increase productivity

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29. Comment #159155 by RSP on April 11, 2008 at 2:02 pm

This is dumb. They say it "boosts brain power" like it's a fucking Super Mario power up. In other news 20% of the scientists who took that survey have shitty judgment.

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30. Comment #159172 by marv78rpm on April 11, 2008 at 2:32 pm

I can certainly relate to that. The other night my roommate gave me two tablets of dextroamphetamine to boost my concentration and help me to stay up late to read some papers and do some work. I ended up not sleeping for 48 hours
Two tablets! Hoo-eee! No wonder you couldn't sleep for 48 hours. They come in 5mg and 10mg. I take half of a 5mg. That dose of 2.5mg is all I need or want. As they say, "Everything in moderation."

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31. Comment #159221 by cam9976 on April 11, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Just as atheletes, to whom their physique is important, take steroids, scientists, who value brain power, are going to try and get something to make themselves smarter; it's human nature, right?

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32. Comment #159222 by babrock on April 11, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Personaly,I am a big beliver in better living thru chemistry. Yes there is a signifigant chance of signifigant negative side effects that t users should be aware of, but I have never seen why that is any ones concern other than t user.

That is my position on strong illegal drugs, and it is definetly how I view brain boosters.

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33. Comment #159278 by dragonfirematrix on April 11, 2008 at 8:32 pm

I am a sixty year old techy. I would love to jack-up my performance. I already do vitimans and anything else I can get to pump me up (body and mind).

Taking performance enhancement drugs sounds like a great idea! Lets push the damn moralists back into their dark-age closet so the rest of us can acheive greater accomplishments for humankind.

I vote for science, not religion.

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34. Comment #159279 by will young on April 11, 2008 at 8:36 pm

BFD. Use does not by default equate to abuse for everyone.

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35. Comment #159288 by asupcb on April 11, 2008 at 9:30 pm

Would someone remind me again who's bright idea drugs prohibition was and why the hell we're still trying to (selectively) enforce it? Seriously why do I need a prescription to buy this stuff if I own my own body? Why can't I legally decide what should and should not be placed into it? I mean at least here in the states it is used primarily as a tool by racists to jail massive numbers of black people (63% of drugs convictions are committed against people who are black. Link here: http://www.haverford.edu/publications/spring00/sterling4.htm ). The US now has the largest prison population in the world largely due to drugs prohibition. Why can't we legalize it all and stop convicting people of non-violent "crimes?"

/rant

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36. Comment #159289 by Russell Blackford on April 11, 2008 at 9:36 pm

Jeez, I could really do with another cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, I agree with the people who are complaining about all the moralism. What's the rational basis for someone to object to my use of neural enhancers such as coffee and Coca Cola? And in any event, it's my life. Rack off, wowsers!

I also agree with the comments about how this survey is so methodologically bad as to be almost meaningless.

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37. Comment #159378 by Buddha on April 12, 2008 at 3:52 am

Comment #159010 by headcold on April 11, 2008 at 10:37 am

Using hallucinogenic drugs coincides directly with my final break from religion and associated metaphysically supported stuffs. After realizing that while tripping on mushrooms or DXM I went through a variety of emotional states, from great fear to extreme joy and "genuine" religious experiences, I finally started to understand that maybe I was just stimulating a part of my brain that made me hallucinate into thinking that there was something divine in the world.

Same with me. I was a regular recreational user of LSD many years ago. It was very apparant that the intense pseudo-mystical experiences you could have were just down to chemical processes screwing with the neurons. It was what finally convinced me of a definite neurological cause to all religious experience and that Timothy Leary was in fact a complete tosser.

Other Comments by Buddha

38. Comment #159419 by entheogensmurf on April 12, 2008 at 6:55 am

Nootropics/performance-enhancing drugs is the next logical step.

That is, once we can verify they aren't destroying the very thing we are enhancing or ruining the body.

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39. Comment #159424 by Bonzai on April 12, 2008 at 7:09 am

Well the point of this is probably not that scientists are abusing prescription drugs (LSD doesn't count, sorry), but that they do this for a specific purpose, namely to gain a competitive edge. If there is truth to it it shows an aspect of science as a social institution that we should worry about.Namely that it has becomes a very competitive industry perverted by money, ego and the pressure to produce rather than the desire to seek truth.

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40. Comment #159583 by TruthByEvidence on April 12, 2008 at 3:07 pm

So, does that mean that I should be taking these drugs as well?

I was prescribed medication when I was younger, yet stopped due to a personal desire to not become dependent upon such substances...

Reading things like this makes me think twice about such things...

Some people take pills to feel cool, some take them to perform well in school. ~ L

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41. Comment #159672 by dragonfirematrix on April 12, 2008 at 6:56 pm

Mind enhancing... body enhancing... sounds great!

I am 60 years old. I regularly work out in everything from walking, to weights, to high impact endurance. Even with all this, unassisted development has its limits, and such development plans do not take care of the aches, the pains, and the degeneration of aging.

Science achieves while those those dusty old books of faith repeatedly fail.

Bring on the science. I will swallow the enhancers with some juice.

Other Comments by dragonfirematrix

42. Comment #159673 by Dr Benway on April 12, 2008 at 7:04 pm

All drugs are poison. They all have side effects. Some we probably won't realize for many years.

The only reason to take a medication is because it offers some clear, significant benefit that outweighs all potential risks.

The hype around meds is a problem.

Years ago, a lot of people were into this life extension stuff. I had friends taking mega doses of vitamins and other "neutraceuticals." They swore by them.

But I realized that they were all aging just like everyone else.

The med hype reminds me of sneakers. When I was a kid, a new pair of sneakers would make me run fast. I could feel it.

Other Comments by Dr Benway

43. Comment #159821 by babrock on April 13, 2008 at 7:48 am

asupcb
On;whose bright idea drug prohibition was?
T same people that thought alchohol prohibition was a great idea. You hit t nail on t head w/ your asertion regarding t disproportionat # of blacks incarserated for nonviolent drug crimes.

Most of t history of drug prohibition in America is a list of t status quogiong after one ethnic mminority after another; Weed for t Mexicans and opiates for t Chinese Cocain is a bit diferent, but t sentencing disparity btwn powder and crack offences is unquestionable and based on nothing more than that blacks largly cannot afford cocain in powdered form.

For decades I have belived that t two greatest sources of evil/injustice whatever in t world are church and state. As this site is devoted to focusing on t former rather than t later it may well be inapropriot to go on too much about it, so I donot often but here is an exception.

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44. Comment #159825 by babrock on April 13, 2008 at 7:53 am

fyi
There is a book called "The War On Drugs" which I liked, which holds religous types responsible as well.

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45. Comment #159993 by will young on April 13, 2008 at 1:51 pm

babrock
i mst b gtng old bcs aftr i rd yr psts i dnt knw wht u sd ;p

p&l
w

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46. Comment #160281 by AtheistAspy on April 13, 2008 at 10:06 pm

That's still just 20% who use the drugs.

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47. Comment #164794 by LividBishop on April 20, 2008 at 5:33 pm

i love how he says 'after exams they stop abusing drugs' - they were not ABUSING drugs, they were USING them. Just because its illegal doesn't make it anything but a legal problem.

why are drugs a 'moral' issue? so absurd.

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