Five Questions From Brain Gain

Kristina Keidel
Jessica Rabin
Chris Wenning

Questions That Arose For Us:

1. Have other countries banned or legalized the use of non-prescribed neuroenhancers?

2. How easy is it to fake having ADHD and get a prescription?

3. What happens if someone is caught taking neuroenhancers and they are not prescribed?

4. What is the normal testing procedure to diagnose ADD and A.D.H.D.?

5. Are there any new neuroenhancers since the article was written in 2009?

 

Research on new developments since the article was written:

*Intuniv is a newly used A.D.H.D. medication but it is not a “stimulant” and has adverse effects

* It is illegal to take neuroenhancers at all in Japan, Thailand, and South Korea (which just banned adderall), and the United Nations made the regulations harder on prescribing neuroenhancers

*Neuroenhancers are labeled “schedule II Substances” for the possiblity of mental and physical dependency and abuse

*Being caught with unprescriped neuroenhancers is (typically but depends on the state) considered a misdemeanor and the person is subject to no more than one year in jail and/or a fine of not more than $ 1,000.

*A study showed that two common tests the “ADHA Rating Scale” (ARS) and the “Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale” (CARRS) could not distingiush between people with real ADHD and people that were told to convince the person testing them they had it in order to receive a cash reward

* The diagnosis criteria for ADHD is usually just patients describing symptoms they experience and they must experience 6 symptoms from two different categories. The two categories are inattention and hyperactivity and impulsivity. Also questionnaires and surveys may be used.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/DS00275/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis 

Brain Gain

        The article Brain Gain by Margaret Talbot is about the “off label” use of neuroenhancing drugs like Adderall and Provigil. The article discusses how people take neuroenhancing drugs to preform better for longer periods of time. Some people take it so that they will not sleep and can finish college work or other work, and others take it so that they can be more productive than others.

       The article also talks about possible side effects of the drugs and the controversy over them. Some people believe that people who take unprescribed or use neuroenhancers as an “off label” use are cheating and have an unfair advantage in school, work etc. than those who follow the law and do the work without  taking  neuroenhancing drugs, which are also called “brain steroids”.  As well, there is not a lot of research on the effect of these drugs on healthy people and people fear that it could be detrimental to someones health. 

 

       The most interesting issue the article raised for me was the fact that it seems to be so easy to buy or to be prescribed neuroenhancers without really having a medical reason. In the article It was interesting that one of the people went to a doctor and described symptoms that normally would be associated with A.D.H.D.  even though he did not really suffer from them in order for the doctor to prescribe him Adderall. It also was interesting that the same person said that he went back and “persuaded” his doctor to add another dose of an extended release Adderall to his daily regimen and the doctor actually did.