watch out for smart drugs!

Notice to students: taking smart drugs will make you feel better. But guess what: that’s not the case. These little pills that help you stay awake, focused, motivated, and boost memory can lead to cognitive decline.

Hervé Poirier, editor-in-chief of the magazine Epsiloon, as end-of-year exams approach, talks to us about smart drugs, these little pills supposed to help you stay awake, focused, motivated and boost your memory. The phenomenon is global, and does not spare France: these smart drugs taken on a regular and sustained basis can even lead to cognitive decline, and reduce learning potential, in the short or long term.

franceinfo: At this almost end of the year for schoolchildren and students, who are preparing to take their exams, do you want to alert students about the consumption of these pills? And you say: be careful!

Hervé Poirier: According to the rare researchers who study the subject, the phenomenon is global, growing, and does not spare France, even if it is difficult to have precise figures – it can rise to a third of students in certain country. Smart drugs are medications originally intended to improve alertness, like Modafinil, prescribed to people suffering from narcolepsy, or Adderall and Ritalin, for those suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

These substances, called “nootropics”, modulate the levels of dopamine or norepinephrine in the brain, which facilitates transmission between neurons. They are normally only available with a prescription, but they are easy to obtain on the Internet.

And is it effective for students?

No. Researchers concede that the vast majority of students who have consumed it report positive effects. But it is pernicious. A test was carried out for the three main substances, on participants faced with an optimization problem – it involved filling a bag with objects of varying mass and value, so as to maximize the value.

These psychostimulants do increase motivation, but reduce the quality of effort, which cancels the overall effect, concludes the researcher who led the study. Participants think they are doing better, because they are motivated, but this is not the case. This can improve the results, on tasks where it is enough to fumble, but that does not make you think or learn better.

It even appears that the best, basically, become less good. In short, it’s not a good idea, even if you have a little slack before the exams.

And are there any side effects?

There may be immediate effects: nausea, headache, loss of appetite, insomnia, tachycardia. But the long-term effects, in healthy individuals, remain unknown. Particularly in young people, whose brains are still developing.

Regular and sustained taking of these pills can even lead to cognitive decline, and reduce learning potential, in the short or long term, points out a British pharmacist. The subject remains little studied, but she warns: “This is going to become a public health problem.”