American students are abusing drugs 'smart'

According to recent statistics, students in the US are abusing a drug called 'smart drug' to enhance brain activity.

Smart drug is a drug that can enhance brain activity in a short time, increase memory capacity, concentration . like a kind of doping for the brain. This drug is only used by doctors, but there are currently more than 1 million students in the US abusing this particular type of doping with the desire to improve their academic results in the exam.

This drug can increase some brain chemicals such as dopamine, help improve memory, learning ability in a short time. However, too much abuse for too long can cause a lot of brain damage.

According to recent studies, this smart drug can cause adverse effects on brain development at an immature age. The human brain continues to grow from the age of 20 to 30, especially in the prefrontal cortex, the area involved in planning and decision making. Dr Wen-Jun Gao, a neuroscientist at Drexel Medical University in Philadelphia, said the use of such a smart drug could have a long-term effect on the development of the prefrontal cortex, reducing the likelihood. organization and planning.

The most widely used smart drugs today are methylphenidate , also known as Ritalin or Concerta , used by doctors to treat patients with attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity disorder. However, according to a Drugfree.org survey, more than 1.3 million young people in the United States abuse methylphenidate-containing drugs .

Besides drugs that contain methylphenidate, some other smart drugs use modafinil like Provigil to treat people with narcolepsy and sleep disorders, which are used to help US Air Force pilots keep be alert. Modafinil can increase memory, alertness by increasing the level of dopamine in the brain like the effect of methylphenidate.

The US military is also studying a special type of medicine called ampakines that enhances brain activity and keeps alertness to soldiers on the battlefield. However, all of the smart drugs above cause serious consequences for the brain, damaging brain cells if abused for a long time.