Lifestyle use of drugs by healthy people for enhancing cognition, creativity, motivation and pleasure

Abstract

Today, there is continued, and in some cases growing, availability of not only psychoactive substances, including treatments for mental health disorders such as cognitive enhancers, which can enhance or restore brain function, but also ‘recreational’ drugs such as novel psychoactive substances (NPS). The use of psychoactive drugs has both benefits and risks: whilst new drugs to treat cognitive symptoms in neuropsychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders could have great benefits for many patient groups, the increasing ease of accessibility to recreational NPS and the increasing lifestyle use of cognitive enhancers by healthy people means that the effective management of psychoactive substances will be an issue of increasing importance. Clearly, the potential benefits of cognitive enhancers are large and increasingly relevant, particularly as the population ages, and for this reason, we should continue to devote resources to the development of cognitive enhancers as treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. However, the increasing use of cognitive enhancers by healthy individuals raises safety, ethical and regulatory concerns, which should not be ignored. Similarly, understanding the short‐ and long‐term consequences of the use of NPS, as well as better understanding the motivations and profiles of users could promote more effective prevention and harm reduction measures. Linked ArticlesThis article is part of a themed section on Pharmacology of Cognition: a Panacea for Neuropsychiatric Disease? To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.19/issuetoc

The Future of Technology in Positive Psychology: Methodological Advances in the Science of Well-Being

“…These substances raise the potential for episodic interventions to treat mental disorders and/or increase well-being. Similar to the self-quantification movement, in the United States there exists a vibrant “biohacking” community that is actively exploring the use of small or below-threshold doses of psychopharmaceuticals to improve daily well-being, attention and creativity (for a discussion, see d’Angelo et al, 2017 ).…”

Awareness of users and motivational factors for using new psychoactive substances in Belgium

“…But also in their diversity and the speed by which the chemical structures of those substances are changed or updated, for example, as a response to changing legislation. Furthermore, the internet has played a significant role by facilitating the acquisition of NPS in an international market [ 5 ]. By the end of 2016, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) already identified over 620 different NPS present on the European drug market [ 6 ].…”

“…Few data on the motivating factors of the NPS consumers are available. Presumably, the lower cost, temporary legal status, and (online) accessibility helped increase the popularity of NPS [ 12 , 13 ], in addition to users turning to NPS for a variety of reasons including cognitive enhancement, creativity, pleasure, or self-medication [ 5 , 14 ]. Furthermore, motives may vary depending on the specific class of substances and the effects desired by NPS users.…”

Pharmacology of cognition: a panacea for neuropsychiatric disease?

“…The potential for ‘smart’ drug taking in healthy people to enhance cognitive performance is considered by d'Angelo et al . (). Prescription stimulants such as amphetamines, methylphenidate and modafinil have been shown to affect a variety of cognitive domains, while acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil show little consistent effects in healthy people.…”

“…Given the increasing ‘non‐medical’ use of cognitive enhancers, d'Angelo et al . () argue for more evidence of their long‐term safety and efficacy in healthy people, which currently falls outside the scope of regulatory consideration.…”