By By Rob Tokanel, News Staff

As doctors increasingly prescribe attention-deficit drugs like Adderall and Ritalin and some students admit to using the drugs to cram for tests and write term papers, some scientists claim it’s only a matter of time before the use of performance enhancing drugs for the mind becomes commonplace in classrooms and offices.
Experts like Martha J. Farah, director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford Law School professor Henry Greeley recently argued in the scientific journal Nature that the use of prescription amphetamines, which have been proven to increase focus, should be considered as a reasonable step in cognitive enhancement, not just as a cure for diseases like Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Professor of pharmaceutical science Richard Deth said use of mind-enhancing drugs raises philosophical questions about what the limits for what people can do to their brains.
‘Many people, if not everyone, will perform better, but you’re really impinging on the larger issue of what a society should declare as the borders of enhancing performance as opposed to what would be considered natural abilities or natural learning,’ Deth said.
Deth said that because the drugs are helpful in the short term does not mean they are harmless.
‘It’s a problem in ways that are so subtle that people involved don’t appreciate them, because we don’t always appreciate ourselves,’ Deth said.
According to the Food and Drug Administration website, the effects of Adderall withdrawal after extended periods of high dosage result in extreme fatigue and mental depression. A one-time acute overdose can include tremor, restlessness, panic states, hallucinations, rapid respiration and confusion, the site states.
Although Deth said a one-time dose of an amphetamine like Adderall or Ritalin would be unlikely to produce any lasting negative effects on the body or brain, he said the experience itself could change the way a person thinks about drug abuse.
‘You’ve knowingly linked taking a drug under illicit circumstances to gaining an experience which, if you liked it, may encourage you to do that again,’ Deth said. ‘That itself is a problem.’
Middler business major Eric Smith said he hasn’t used Adderall, but doesn’t see a problem with people taking the drug when they want to catch up on homework.
‘I think if it helps you it’s OK,’ he said. ‘Some people just aren’t good at studying or paying attention, even if they don’t have ADD.’
Deth said the effects of long-term use are the adaptive responses that occur in the dopamine receptors of the brain. When the mind is used to getting an increased amount of synaptic activity in the dopamine receptors, it ‘down regulates’ other activities to counteract the higher levels. When the body starts releasing normal levels of dopamine, the brain isn’t getting what it’s adjusted itself to, which can make it even more difficult to focus.
‘Are you more attentive? Are you able to respond to sensory information? Are you able to utilize parts of your brain interacting more effectively together in a way that allows learning?’ Deth said. ‘Yes, so what happens when that goes away? You’re on your own, and maybe you’re not quite as smart, not quite as well connected anymore.’
Freshman undecided major Carole Pompei said she has tried taking Adderall before and most of the freshmen she knows have used it and know how to get it.
‘I don’t think it’s a big deal,’ she said. ‘I think it’s obviously bad to overuse it, but when you have a huge essay to write I think it’s ok.’
Pompei said students who have prescriptions will usually sell pills to other students in their residence halls for about $5 a pill. Deth said the secondary market for drugs of abuse is something drug companies are aware of and take into account when pricing their products.
Smith added that just because college students who don’t have prescriptions take it to study does not mean he would advocate the drugs being sold over the counter.
‘I think people would abuse it if it was sold over the counter because it’s kind of like cocaine in a sense,’ Smith said. ‘It’s a lot bigger at home, and a lot of people don’t do it to study. They just do it to get high.’