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Post by Joebert Bedoya on Sept 17, 2015 10:37:51 GMT -4
Modafinil and other cognitive enhancing drugs are like gifts from heaven not just for civilians but for the military personnel as well. I agree that this drug can help people stay awake and perform with their tasks longer since the their concentration and attention is prolonged thus increases productivity in general but the study shows NO creativity involved. The study was done in a controlled environment thus limited its potentials. It didn't state how many people were involved in the study and its demographics in general. The study just concluded that there's no adverse side effects to Modafinil reported as of yet without numerical data or statistics to back their results. I always believe that using these kind of drugs as prescribed and not being abused can really help those who are in dire need. There is always a tendency to abuse these drugs so we really do not know the extent of the side effects due to lack of data. If used for a long period of time, how would we know if patients can be addicted/dependent or not? In contrast to this drug is Benadryl for example, taking Benadryl for a long period makes the drug less effective if taking the same amount so you have to increase the dose to get the desired effect. I am just curious why they even bothered to do study on these to normal people when they know for a fact that it can really help? If this kind of drug is approved for consumption without prescription because of their conclusion then I think they are just opening the Pandora's box. If they will eventually legalize the Modafinil then why not legalize Adderall, Concerta, and other "smart pills"? Crystal meth is also a brain enhancing drug but it is controlled. One last thing, anything that is taken for a long period of time can have adverse side effects to our body. Why fix something when it is not broken? Just saying.
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Post by Veneetha Malakkla on Sept 17, 2015 10:56:40 GMT -4
I really enjoyed reading this article. The part that I want to comment on is when the article reported "Adderall, or amphetamine, works by boosting the brain’s levels of norepinephrine and dopamine, two chemicals that are responsible for concentration and alertness, modafinil also works on other neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and the resulting effect is one of allowing users to perform complex cognitive tasks more effectively." I understand that healthy people want to use modafinil even though they don't have a medical condition to increase their productivity. It makes sense and in the end it's their choice to make and their experience. Although I do believe opening this idea up to healthy individuals will definitely lead to more long term adverse effects and potential for abuse and addiction and chaos. As Americans we are always looking for an easy way out. People are trying to work to a point of exhaustion. Our bodies need proper rest. We always want "more" and never satisfied. Starting this, will only lead to more abuse/addiction problems to a point where our bodies will become exhausted. I believe if we start to incorporate mindful meditation techniques in our daily lives then we as healthy individuals don't need to turn to drugs to accomplish this. Practicing mindfulness decreases stress levels and also releases the same neurotransmitters to achieve a relaxed and alert state of mind. It is shown to improve our mental clarity and focus as well. I think if we take a step back and sit in stillness we can acquire a more natural way to be effective and productive. Russell Simmons states “I used to think anxiety and insomnia drove me to success, but it was the stillness that let me be good at anything. When you extend the seconds of stillness, that’s when you’re able to think and learn.”
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Post by prasheenshahms3 on Sept 17, 2015 12:51:58 GMT -4
The use of neuromodulators to enhance cognition and mental function with minimal side effects sounds great in theory and may even be beneficial to most people using these drugs. However, this is part of a deeper problem that is becoming more and more prevalent in today's society: people today want quick fixes for everything without doing any of the work. The time spent being introspective, analyzing the problem and slowly developing habits to improve oneself before resorting to medical treatment is decreasing at an alarming rate. Medical treatment quickly is turning from the last resort to the first option. Using adderall and modafanil for mental enhancement will cause people to resort to temporary fixes instead of ever tackling the deeper issues. This causes patients to avoid putting in any work towards self improvement and expecting drugs to do all the work for them. Despite this, drugs such as these will be beneficial to millions of people and make their lives better, even if it is temporary.
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Post by Travina Varghese on Sept 17, 2015 14:06:47 GMT -4
Another interesting read this week. I understand that in a competitive environment where it is paramount to produce exceptional results in a short period of time, many young individuals feel pressured to use the aid of medications such as Modafinil to achieve their goals. Though current research does not show any long-term side-effects related to Modafinil at therapeutic doses and consider it fairly safe, there is always the risk that this is simply because our understanding of its effects on the brain are at a novel stage. The article mentions the possibility of sleep patterns being affected with long-term Modafinil use. In an outpatient setting, we often see patients taking various forms of sleep-aids due to complaints of insomnia or difficulty sleeping, whether related or unrelated to an existing psychiatric / medical condition. Would psychiatrists and primary-care doctors have to worry about an overly increasing number of young and middle-aged patients with a history of long-term use of Modafinil, needing to be prescribed Ambien, Lunesta, Remeron, benzodiazepines, etc solely for the purpose of aiding sleep? The article mentioned rare instances of psychosis following heavy use of amphetamines. Would we have to worry about the possibility of an increased incidence of psychosis in middle-aged individuals due to sleep deprivation? The article also mentions about the ethics of using smart drugs. If medications like Modafinil are promoted to be safe for use in healthy people, will we see a sudden surge in the number of people taking them? How can one ensure that people will take the medication only at the recommended dose and not take more when faced with a challenging task or workload? Will people ask to take them just as any other supplement to sharpen their mind (eg: ginkgo biloba)? Will there be an age limit or will parents also want their children to take such medications in order to attain better grades and become eligible for top schools in the country? Perhaps, I’m leaning to the extreme with these questions. But I believe this simply shows the ardent need to promote behavioral therapy at a young age and make it easily accessible, so that young individuals will be able to develop skills to function in a competitive environment without relying on smart drugs. This might also help limit organizations from setting unhealthy standards for its students and employees.
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Post by Parth Shah on Sept 17, 2015 16:01:16 GMT -4
Interesting read. This reminds me of the movie Limitless in where a drug is created that improves work efficiency. One of the obvious downsides to a drug like this is overuse and the potential adverse side effects. But the ethical dilemma that would arise theoretically if there were no adverse effects would be quite interesting. Essentially it would have the same function as a computer program, algorithm or robot that maximizes efficiency in the workplace. Going to medical school it is not uncommon for students to abuse adderall and other similar stimulants. But it was very obvious when students could not function(study) without them, even students who did not have actuall ADD/ADHD. Maybe this drug can set society back instead of push efficacy.
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Post by Tejal Rana MS 3 on Sept 17, 2015 16:45:20 GMT -4
The risks of taking these medications on a healthy person may impact the person in the long run. Therefore I do not think taking these pills despite the fact that they may help improve cognition and improve performance should be taken. One of the major side effects of Modafinil the article mentioned how it can affect sleep patterns and how Adderall induces psychosis. Over long period of time, that may induce the patient to take more medications to help with insomnia and psychosis. With today’s society as work seems more stressful, and companies demanding higher productive work from people, stress levels are increased but that should not be a reason to take medications that just enhance performance due to other side effects that may be unknown. Those unknown consequences may occur. I feel only those that absolutely clinically need the medications like ADHD should be prescribed to them.
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Post by Moji Ishola on Sept 17, 2015 17:33:57 GMT -4
Drug usage/prescription has always been a challenge for both medical practitioners as well as consumers. Despite the number of years spent training as a doctor, prescribing a drug to a patient usually comes down to the discretion of a doctor based on the medical history of the patient and close relatives, as well as other important factors.
Lets’s take a recreational drug like marijuana for example. Some school of thoughts argue this to be a source of relaxation for consumers amongst other benefits and other school of thoughts focus on the side of effects such as short-term memory loss and a host of others. Nonetheless, marijuana is legal in some states in the US, can be gotten by prescription from a doctor in others and of course the local dealer. Putting Modafinil into context, this isn’t different from any other drug. There are upsides to it such as cognitive increase performance and side effects such as jitteriness and stomach aches. Of course this excludes drug abuse, which are likely to produce greater side effects. Nevertheless i think Modafinil is an amazing medication that could help a lot of individuals struggling with the issue of nacrolepsy.
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