😯💊 Dem ‘Brain Booster’ Medicine Fit Dey Reduce Productivity For Pipo Wey No Get ADHD, Study Don Yan
New research wey come from University of Cambridge and University of Melbourne, wey dem publish for Science Advances, don dey show say dem workers and students wey dey “normal”, if dem take dis kain medicine wey go dey enhance cognitive abilities or “smart” drugs, e fit dey make dem no dey do better or dey productive. 💼📚
Dem dey sell some drugs like methylphenidate under different brand names like Ritalin and others, and na mostly for people wey get attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dem dey prescribe am for. But some people wey no get dis kain diagnosis, dem go still dey take am, because dem believe say e go help dem focus better and make their brain sharper. 🧠💡
For four trials wey dem do for Melbourne, where dem no tell anybody anything before dem start, and dem do am for every one week, dem same 40 healthy people dem, na dem come carry take one of the three popular “smart” drugs (methylphenidate, modafinil or dextroamphetamine) or dem give dem placebo. Dem come dey test dem to see how dem go do for one kind test wey dey like the complex decision-making and problem-solving wey we dey face for our everyday life. 📋🎲
Before before, dem studies wey dem do about dis smart drugs, dem just dey use simple cognitive tasks wey dey target memory or attention. But dis Melbourne trial, na more complex activities dem use wey dey simulate the difficult nature of tasks wey people dey face for their everyday life. 🧩🎯
Dem ask participants make dem complete one kain exercise wey dem call di “Knapsack Optimization Problem” or “knapsack task”. Dem come give dem one virtual knapsack with set capacity, and dem give dem selection of different items with different weight and values. Dem participants come get challenge to figure out how to put items for the bag in such a way wey e go make the overall value of the things inside the bag reach maximum. 💼💰
Overall, dem participants wey take the drugs come see small decrease for accuracy and efficiency, and large increase for the time and effort, compared to when dem no take the drugs. ⏱️🔍
For example, when dem give dem methylphenidate—wetin dem dey use treat ADHD for pikin, but college students don dey use am when dem dey read for exams—participants come dey use like 50% longer on average to finish the knapsack problem than when dem give dem placebo. 👧🎒
In addition, participants wey do better for the placebo condition compared to other people for the group, na dem tend to see bigger decrease for their performance and productivity after dem collect drug. 💊⬇️
For the matter of “productivity”, for example—na the level of progress per item moved in or out of the knapsack—the participants wey dey for top 25% under placebo, e come be say dem dey find dem for bottom 25% under methylphenidate. 💡⬇️
By contrast, participants wey no do well when dem give dem placebo, na only very small time dem go show small improvement after dem take drug. 📈🔝
Professor Peter Bossaerts, wey be Leverhulme International Professor of Neuroeonomics for University of Cambridge, e dey believe say dem need to do more research to know wetin be the effects of these drugs on people wey no get ADHD. 🎓🔬
“E be like say these drugs no actually dey make you ‘smarter,'” na so Bossaerts talk. “Because of the dopamine the drugs dey cause, we been expect to see say motivation go increase, and e dey motivate person to try harder. However, we come see say this kind exertion dey cause more erratic thinking—in ways wey we fit dey sure of, because people don study this knapsack task well well for computer science.” 🧪🔎
“Performance no generally increase, so questions remain about how the drugs dey affect people’s minds and their decision making.” 📊💭
Dr. Elizabeth Bowman, researcher for the Centre for Brain, Mind and Markets for University of Melbourne and the lead author of the study talk say the results show say we never confirm how these drugs dey improve our performance, when normal people dey use am for everyday complex tasks. 🧠📈
“From our research, drugs wey we think say go improve cognitive performance for patients fit actually dey make healthy users work harder while dem dey produce lower quality work for longer time,” na so Bowman talk. ⏲️📉
NOW IN ENGLISH
😯💊 ADHD ‘Smart’ Drugs Might Decrease Productivity in Those Without the Condition, Study Reveals
Fresh research from the University of Cambridge and the University of Melbourne, published in Science Advances, has found that neurotypical (or ‘normal’) workers and students using cognitive enhancers, commonly known as “smart” drugs, could be inadvertently hindering their performance and productivity. 💼📚
Drugs like methylphenidate, commercialized under various brand names like Ritalin, are often prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but they are also used by individuals without this diagnosis, with the belief that these substances will improve focus and cognitive abilities. 🧠💡
In a series of four double-blind, randomized trials conducted in Melbourne, each one week apart, the same 40 healthy participants were administered one of three popular “smart” drugs (methylphenidate, modafinil, or dextroamphetamine) or a placebo. They were then assessed on their performance in a test designed to simulate complex decision-making and problem-solving situations encountered in everyday life. 📋🎲
While previous studies on the effects of smart drugs have employed simpler cognitive tasks targeting memory or attention, the Melbourne trial involved more complex activities that better mirror the challenging tasks people face daily. 🧩🎯
Participants were asked to complete a task known as the “Knapsack Optimization Problem”, in which they were given a virtual knapsack with a set capacity, and a selection of items with varying weights and values. The challenge for the participants was to figure out the best way to allocate items to the bag to maximize the total value of its contents. 💼💰
Overall, participants taking the drugs saw minor decreases in accuracy and efficiency, coupled with significant increases in time and effort, compared to their results when not under the influence of these drugs. ⏱️🔍
For instance, when administered methylphenidate—commonly used to treat ADHD in children, but increasingly popular among college students during exam periods—participants took around 50% longer on average to solve the knapsack problem than when they were given a placebo. 👧🎒
Moreover, participants who performed at a higher level in the placebo condition compared to the rest of the group tended to show a larger decrease in performance and productivity after taking a drug. 💊⬇️
In terms of “productivity”—the progress level per item moved in or out of the knapsack—the participants ranking in the top 25% under a placebo condition frequently ended up in the bottom 25% under the influence of methylphenidate. 💡⬇️
On the other hand, participants who performed poorly under a placebo condition showed only a slight improvement after drug administration on very rare occasions. 📈🔝
Professor Peter Bossaerts, the Leverhulme International Professor of Neuroeconomics at the University of Cambridge, believes that more research is needed to discern the effects of these drugs on individuals without ADHD. 🎓🔬
“Our results suggest that these drugs do not actually make you ‘smarter,'” stated Bossaerts. “We anticipated increased motivation due to the dopamine induced by the drugs, and they do motivate individuals to try harder. However, we found that this extra effort led to more erratic thinking—something we could accurately measure because the knapsack task has been extensively studied in computer science.” 🧪🔎
“There was no general increase in performance, leaving unanswered questions about how these drugs are influencing people’s minds and decision-making processes.” 📊💭
Dr. Elizabeth Bowman, a researcher at the Centre for Brain, Mind, and Markets at the University of Melbourne and the lead author of the study, stated that the results demonstrate we have not yet established the effectiveness of pharmaceutical enhancers on our performance when used by neurotypical individuals for everyday complex tasks. 🧠📈
“Our research shows that drugs expected to improve cognitive performance in patients may actually lead healthy users to work harder while producing lower quality work over a longer period,” Bowman concluded. ⏲️📉
