Memory pills on the way

Back in March last year I posted on how we'd soon be able to pop a pill to get smarter. Well it seems that the current semi-illicit practice will go mainstream if AstraZeneca and Epix Pharmaceuticals get there way.

As reported in the Telegraph, medicine designed originally to help treat Alzheimer's disease could be adapted and licensed for sale in a weaker form within the next few years:

Steven Ferris, a neurologist and former committee member of the Food and Drug Administration in the US, has predicted that a milder version will be available for healthy consumers as a "lifestyle pill" available over the counter.

Dr Ferris said: "My view is that one could gain approval, provided you showed the drugs to be effective and safe. It could be a huge market."

You bet, Steven. In fact there is already plenty of appetite for these cognitive enhancers amongst the student communities in the US and UK and no doubt elsewhere in the world where they are undermining the classic examination and assessment certification that predominates in education around the world.

Provigil, used to treat narcolepsy, is being taken by some students to help them stay awake, while Adderall XR and Ritalin, treatments for attention deficit disorder, are being used to help promote concentration.

Clearly there are risks but it seems we are not far away from this going mainstream. It will be interesting to know what effect "cosmetic neurology" has on how we design learning experiences going forward. Indeed, we may end up requesting learners to pop a particular pill to support particular forms of learning depending on the cognitive activity at hand.

If you happen to be attending the Learning Technologies show in London next week then do stop by the Brightwave stand and say hello. I'm holding a seminar in the main hall area on "Mission Critical E-Learning" which is free to attend - do come along and give me your feedback.

Oh and you can try some Think Gum - designed to improve learning and memory recall - and get a taste of things to come.

Think Gum - chew and remember

Think Gum aims to:

...take advantage of proven brain-boosting herbs and herbal extracts, potent antioxidants, the principles of aromatherapy, the stimulant qualities of naturally occurring caffeine, breakthroughs in memory research, and the physical properties of chewing gum itself. In short, Think Gum enhances mental performance.

Not sure of the claims but besides the impact of brain chemistry on cognitive processes, it does highlight the importance of context in learning. The environment - taste and smell included - plays a significant role in recalling memories:

If test takers chew Think Gum while learning, their recall of such information will be better when they chew Think Gum again.

Not sure what happens when you get through all the distinctive flavours they offer, but these are interesting studies quoted on the site:

(1) Herz RS. The effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context-dependent memory. Mem Cognit. 1997 May;25(3):375-80.
(2)Pointer SC, Bond NW. Context-dependent memory: colour versus odour. Chem Senses. 1998 Jun;23(3):359-62.
(3)Morgan CL. Odors as cues for the recall of words unrelated to odor. Percept Mot Skills. 1996 Dec;83(3 Pt 2):1227-34.
(4)Smith DG, Standing L, de Man A. Verbal memory elicited by ambient odor. Percept Mot Skills. 1992 Apr;74(2):339-43.

Scratch and sniff test papers can only be a short time a way...

If anyone has had a try of this stuff I'd be interested to know if you felt any positive effects.