It is more and more difficult for a modern person to cope with the processing of ever-increasing volumes of information. Memory and attention today is a most valuable resource. In the hope of improving cognition, neurostimulants are often used in the West. RIA Novosti understands what it is and whether pills are really capable of making us smarter.
Healthy young people are taking medications designed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, sleep disorders, senile dementia, and other neurological conditions. In Europe, over the past two years, the proportion of those who have taken a course of cognitive-enhancing drugs without a medical indication has grown from five to 14 percent. Most of all the fans of "smart pills" in the United States - almost 30 percent of the population. These are the data of an international anonymous survey, in which a total of about one hundred thousand people from 15 countries took part - 79 640 in 2015 and 29 758 in 2017.
There are no data for Russia. But, according to the studies of domestic scientists, in the country, sales of drugs to improve memory and increase concentration of attention - these include nootropics - are growing on average by two percent per year, and in the next ten years, we should expect an increase in this for now.
by 15-20 percent.
Nine countries with the highest use of drugs to improve memory and improve concentration without medical indications.
Think faster, easier to remember
“Nootropics are stimulating drugs that activate the metabolism of the brain, improve memory, mental activity, and increase stress resistance. They are divided into “true” nootropics and drugs of multidirectional, complex action, including nootropic, - the so-called neuroprotectors,”says Lyubov Sokolova, Doctor of Medical Sciences, a neurologist of the highest category at Clinical Hospital No. 1 of the Presidential Administration.
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In short, these miracle pills act as neurotransmitters - substances through which nerve cells exchange electrochemical signals. Nootropics and neuroprotective agents change the content of these signals or modify the rules for their processing. As a result, a person concentrates better, becomes more attentive, thinks faster and remembers more.
For example, piracetam and its derivatives improve blood flow in the brain and serve to form new connections in it. It is believed to help with any task. Glycine (or aminoacetic acid) - the most popular nootropic among Russian students - improves memory and associative processes. Dimethylaminoethanol derivatives increase acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter responsible for cognitive function.
(Un) proven effectiveness
“Doctors recommend taking these drugs to improve concentration, activate thought processes during exams, prepare an important project, report, write a dissertation, thesis. They are also prescribed for rehabilitation measures, for example, after a stroke,”explains Sokolova.
A series of experiments have shown that nootropics and neuroprotective agents actually help think faster and remember more. Scientists from the University of Cambridge gave part of the subjects modafinil, a drug for the treatment of sleepiness and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The second group took a placebo. Those who took Modafinil performed better on cognitive tests.
However, the head of the Department of Nervous Diseases of the First Moscow State Medical University named after Sechenov, Professor Vladimir Parfenov, points out that there is still not enough data on the effectiveness of miracle pills. So, in a study by American scientists, patients taking nootropics (piracetam, fenipiracetam, and others) showed an improvement in cognitive functions, but insignificant. Some experts believe that this can be attributed to the placebo effect or the action of other drugs and factors.
“Indeed, nootropics can improve higher mental functions, but their effect on important clinical indicators, such as improved recovery after brain damage (stroke, trauma), and prevention of dementia, has not been proven,” says Professor Parfenov.
To drink or not to drink?
There is a problem in addition to unproven efficacy: nootropics and neuroprotectors have serious side effects. For example, the same modafinil causes itching and skin rashes, while ritanil causes addiction, anxiety disorder, cardiovascular problems, and weight loss.
In addition, according to Lyubov Sokolova, uncontrolled, prolonged intake of miracle pills can result in depletion of energy (metabolic) reserves of the brain, provocation of overexcitation, increased anxiety and sleep disturbances. This will weaken the ability to work and mental activity, that is, it will cause the exact opposite effect.
Another difficulty that arises in connection with taking nootropics is ethical. In her book Bad Moves, neuropsychologist from Cambridge University Barbara Sakhakyan notes that due to the high cost of the latest generation of nootropics, only the rich will be able to afford them and, accordingly, social inequality will increase. Finally, it is difficult to predict how young people 's fascination with "smart pills" will end, because there is no data on the long - term effects of nootropics on the brain.
Alfiya Enikeeva