Use of methylphenidate among medical students: a systematic review

Finger, Guilherme; Silva, Emerson Rodrigues da; Falavigna, Asdrúbal

doi:10.1016/j.ramb.2012.10.007

Cited by 58 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Several studies have examined people's health concerns about such cognitive enhancers. Interestingly both users and nonusers systematically overestimate the cognitive-enhancing effects of PCE (Finger et al, 2013; Ilieva et al, 2013), but a sharp discrepancy between their risk estimations is revealed. While nonusers generally have strong concerns regarding the safety of PCE, users show less concern.…”

Section: Medical Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes toward pharmacological cognitive enhancementâ€”a review

Schelle

Faulmüller

Caviola

et al. 2014

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

114

109

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A primary means for the augmentation of cognitive brain functions is “pharmacological cognitive enhancement” (PCE). The term usually refers to the off-label use of medical substances to improve mental performance in healthy individuals. With the final aim to advance the normative debate taking place on that topic, several empirical studies have been conducted to assess the attitudes toward PCE in the public, i.e., in groups outside of the academic debate. In this review, we provide an overview of the 40 empirical studies published so far, reporting both their methodology and results. Overall, we find that several concerns about the use of PCE are prevalent in the public. These concerns largely match those discussed in the normative academic debate. We present our findings structured around the three most common concerns: medical safety, coercion, and fairness. Fairness is divided into three subthemes: equality of opportunity, honesty, and authenticity. Attitudes regarding some concerns are coherent across studies (e.g., coercion), whereas for others we find mixed results (e.g., authenticity). Moreover, we find differences in how specific groups—such as users, nonusers, students, parents, and health care providers—perceive PCE: a coherent finding is that nonusers display more concerns regarding medical safety and fairness than users. We discuss potential psychological explanations for these differences.

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Section: Medical Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes toward pharmacological cognitive enhancementâ€”a review

Schelle

Faulmüller

Caviola

et al. 2014

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

114

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The prevalence of CE misuse for at least one time, among college students is reported 6% to 20% depending on the study subject (5). The CEs are prescribed for ADHD, Narcolepsy, and some types of depression (4,6,7). The CE medications are usually used for increasing hour effi-ciency, academic performance, and concentration and attention in students (6,8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Cognitive Enhancers Among Medical Students

Mousavi¹,

Shojaei²

2019

Int J High Risk Behav Addict

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Background: Pharmaceutical cognitive enhancer misuse among college students is known as an unknown phenomenon in many countries. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of cognitive enhancers and its effective factors in students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed by analyzing a total sample of 579 students in the one of University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, Iran. It was told to students that fill the paper questionnaire, nameless, consist of 13 questions about drug usage's prevalence to improve cognitive function and about the reasons and correlates in the course. Results: There was a significant relationship between cognitive enhancer use and the age of respondents (P < 0.05). According to logistic regression analysis, there was significant relationship between knowing someone who had used, stress level and CE use (P < 0.05). Also, a significant difference was found between genders in terms of the motivation to use; so that female were trying to increase concentration. Conclusions: Most of the medical students in this study used cognitive enhancers to improve their concentration for all quiz and assistant exams. Thus they are at risk of being addicted to these drugs.

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“…However, PCEs cannot be equated to innovations, natural enhancers, and academic aids in this respect, as it involves tampering with a normal system, and increasing susceptibility to dependence on something synthetic and inessential (Steiner & Van Waes, 2013); it often presents with side effects like increased heart rate, headache, nausea, and insomnia (Finger, Silva, & Falavigna, 2013) besides encouraging an unhealthy mentality and regime. Although there is some similarity to the internet in terms of being an "abnormal" lifestyle habit, PCEs need to be consumed on more or less a regular basis as effects are dosage-dependent and plateaus with repeated use (Finger et al, 2013;Repantis, Schlattmann, Laisney, & Heuser, 2010), resulting in direct, cumulative internal changes (Steiner & Van Waes, 2013).…”

Section: Is the Status Quo Acceptable?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there is some similarity to the internet in terms of being an "abnormal" lifestyle habit, PCEs need to be consumed on more or less a regular basis as effects are dosage-dependent and plateaus with repeated use (Finger et al, 2013;Repantis, Schlattmann, Laisney, & Heuser, 2010), resulting in direct, cumulative internal changes (Steiner & Van Waes, 2013). While one may argue that natural enhancers (e.g.…”

Section: Is the Status Quo Acceptable?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cognitive-enhancing drugs in the healthy population: Fundamental drawbacks and researcher roles

Choy

2015

Cogent Psychology

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The use of pharmacological cognitive enhancers (PCEs) in the healthy population is a controversial topic with numerous and expansive repercussions. By outlining common proponent arguments on the current PCE state of affairs, the definition of normality, and the complex regulation of PCEs, this article addresses why the mainstream use of PCEs in the healthy population is still disadvantageous overall. In this respect, the influence and roles of researchers to the society are emphasized in bringing the focus back to the fundamental issues, which is crucial in deciphering its controversy and avoiding costly societal, research credibility and ethical implications.

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Use of methylphenidate among medical students: a systematic review

Abstract: There is no evidence in the literature that the use of methylphenidate is beneficial in terms of memory or learning. The drug simply increases wakefulness and alertness, reducing the time of sleep.

Cited by 58 publications

References 7 publications

Attitudes toward pharmacological cognitive enhancementâ€”a review

Attitudes toward pharmacological cognitive enhancementâ€”a review

The Use of Cognitive Enhancers Among Medical Students

Cognitive-enhancing drugs in the healthy population: Fundamental drawbacks and researcher roles

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