Remember when your friend at uni made a fortune during exam time, selling his Ritalin to those who wanted to buckle down and study harder? Well his dealer days may be over, the so-called ‘smart drug’ modafinil set to take its place after findings from researchers at Harvard and Oxford.

The drug is prescribed for narcolepsy, although many students have been taking it to increase decision-making, problem-solving and creative thinking abilities. Here’s the Guardian:

A new review of 24 of the most recent modafinil studies suggests that the drug has many positive effects in healthy people, including enhancing attention, improving learning and memory and increasing something called “fluid intelligence” – essentially our capacity to solve problems and think creatively. One study also showed that modafinil made tasks seem more pleasurable. The longer and more complex the task tested, the more consistently modafinil conferred cognitive benefits, the authors of the review said.

Of course users were concerned with potentially negative side effects, which is where this review really comes in handy:

The review points out that negative effects – including one study that showed that people already classed as creative saw a small drop in creativity – were reported in a small number of tasks, but never consistently. It added that the drug exerts minimal effects on mood, and only causes minor side effects such as nausea, headaches and anxiety, although these were also reported by people who took a placebo drug.

Looks like there will be a roaring trade in modafinil come exam time, with those prone to falling asleep at inopportune moments seeing a sudden surge in their popularity. The last word on the matter can go to Anna-Katharine Brem, co-author of the review, who hints at a need for clarifcation on the legalities of selling the drug openly:

“We’re not saying ‘go out and take this drug and your life will be better’,” said Brem. “It is still unlicensed for healthy people – but it is time for a wider debate on how to integrate cognitive enhancement into our lives. We need to explore the ethics, and scientist, politicians and the public need to be involved.”

[source:guardian]