Abstract
Cognitive enhancers (CE) are prescription drugs taken, either without a prescription or at a dose exceeding that which is prescribed, to improve cognitive functions such as concentration, vigilance or memory. Previous research suggests that users believe the drugs to be safer than non-users and that they have sufficient knowledge to judge safety. However, to date no research has compared the information sources used and safety knowledge of users and non-users. This study compared users and non-users of CE in terms of i) their sources of knowledge about the safety of CE and ii) the accuracy of their knowledge of possible adverse effects of a typical cognitive enhancer (modafinil); and iii) how the accuracy of knowledge relates to their safety beliefs. Students (N = 148) from King's College London (UK) completed an anonymous online survey assessing safety beliefs, sources of knowledge and knowledge of the safety of modafinil; and indicated whether they used CE, and, if so, which drug(s). The belief that the drugs are safe was greater in users than non-users. However, both groups used comparable information sources and have similar, relatively poor drug safety knowledge. Furthermore, despite users more strongly believing in the safety of CE there was no relationship between their beliefs and knowledge, in contrast to non-users who did show correlations between beliefs and knowledge. These data suggest that the differences in safety beliefs about CE between users and non-users do not stem from use of different information sources or more accurate safety knowledge.
Highlights
Cognitive enhancers (CE), commonly referred to as smart drugs, are prescription drugs taken by individuals, either without a prescription or at a dose exceeding that which is prescribed, to improve cognitive functions such as concentration, vigilance or memory [1]
Despite users more strongly believing in the safety of CE there was no relationship between their beliefs and knowledge, in contrast to non-users who did show correlations between beliefs and knowledge
We recently demonstrated that perceived harmlessness and the belief that an individual knows enough about CE to use them safely were significant positive predictors of attitudes towards CE, which in turn predicted CE use in UK university students [12]
Summary
Cognitive enhancers (CE), commonly referred to as smart drugs, are prescription drugs taken by individuals, either without a prescription or at a dose exceeding that which is prescribed, to improve cognitive functions such as concentration, vigilance or memory [1]. CE were originally developed to treat a range of disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Alzheimerâs disease and narcolepsy [2], by targeting various deficits in cognitive functioning such as attention, aberrant learning, and absence of top-down cognitive control [3]. They are increasingly being used by healthy individuals to enhance cognition, even though questions remain around their ability to do so within non-clinical populations [2, 4, 5]. To date no research has compared the information sources used and safety knowledge of users and non-users
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