Brain drugs to improve us

A new generation of mind-enhancing drugs that act as "cosmetics" for the brain may become as common as a cup of coffee, according to British scientists.

Powerful stimulants that improve memory, intellectual agility or other aspects of mental performance will almost certainly be developed over the next 20 years.

They will have limited side-effects, few or no addictive properties and could be used for a wide range of recreational or non-medical purposes such as boosting exam performance, making better business decisions or even eliminating bad memories, the scientists said.

The first of these substances - called cognition enhancers - are already being developed from research into existing drugs designed to treat known medical problems such as attention-deficit disorder or excessive sleepiness.

"In a world that is increasingly non-stop and competitive, the individual's use of such substances may move from the fringe to the norm, with cognition enhancers used as coffee is today," says the latest Foresight report of the British Government's Office of Science and Technology.

The scientists said a drug that helped people forget disturbing life episodes raised the prospect of a future portrayed in films such as Total Recall or The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where characters are able to forget painful relationships.

But the possibility raises disturbing practical, ethical and social issues. "It is possible that such an advance could usher in a new era of drug use without addiction," says the report.

Professor Trevor Robbins of Cambridge University, one of the authors of the Foresight report, said two drugs available on prescription were known to have mind-enhancing properties when taken by healthy people.

Ritalin, which is given to children with Attention Deficit Disorder, is being used by a small number of students in an attempt to improve exam results, and by businessmen to boost boardroom performance.

Modafinil, a drug used to treat narcolepsy, was also used to improve the concentration of healthy people so they could make more accurate decisions, Robbins said.

"It improves so-called working memory, the actual ability to remember telephone numbers. It can give an extra digit or two. It can also improve your planning when you're doing quite complex, chess-like problems," he said.

"What tends to happen is that the drug makes you less impulsive; it makes you more reflective about the problem so you take a bit longer, but you get it right. So it changes your speed-error trade-off to get better accuracy."

Research into the chemistry of the brain has already identified about 60 natural compounds that affect the mind. Further work is almost certain to produce new drugs that could enhance mental performance, the report says.

"If we ever find ourselves in a society that embraced cognition enhancers, 'mental cosmetics' could become accepted and create new expectations about the performance and behaviour of individuals and groups," the report said.

Cognitive enhancers could also be developed to help people come off addictive drugs or overcome post-traumatic stress disorder by helping them to forget memories or painful associations, leading them to return to a more balanced mental state.

"Very basic science is showing it is possible to call up a memory and knock it on the head, to cause selective amnesia," Robbins said.

Such drugs may also be used to remove the cues an addict associates with a drug - such as seeing a pub for an alcoholic. They may even be taken with alcohol to help people make more careful decisions when under the influence.

"The drinker could enjoy alcohol but would still think clearly. They might stop drinking earlier and perhaps think about the consequences before punching someone," says the report.

Sir David King, head of the Office of Science and Technology, said, "We are on the verge of developments which could possibly move us into a world where we could take a drug to help us learn, think faster, relax, sleep more efficiently or even subtly alter our mood to match that of our friends."

"This would have implications for individuals, and could lead to a fundamental change in the way we behave as a society."

- INDEPENDENT