Methylphenidate as a cognitive enhancer in healthy young people

ABSTRACT The so-called cognitive enhancers have been widely and increasingly used by healthy individuals who seek improvements in cognitive performance despite having no pathologies. One drug used for this purpose is methylphenidate, a first-line drug for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objective: The aim of the present study was to test the effect of acute administration of varying doses of methylphenidate (10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg and placebo) on a wide range of cognitive functions in healthy young people. Methods: A total of 36 young university students and graduates participated in the study. The participants underwent tests of attention and of episodic, and working memory. Results: No differences in performance were observed on any of the tests. There was a dose-dependent (40 mg > placebo) effect on self-reported wellbeing. Conclusions: According to the recent literature, psychostimulant medications, such as methylphenidate, improve performance when cognitive processes are below an optimal level, which was not the case for the subjects of the present study. We suggest the impression that methylphenidate enhances cognitive performance in healthy young people, justifying its use, may be due to improvements in subjective wellbeing promoted by the drug.

摘要
所谓的认知增强剂（cognitive enhancers）已被越来越多无病理状况的健康个体广泛使用，他们期望借此提升自身认知表现。哌甲酯（methylphenidate）便是用于该用途的药物之一，它是治疗注意缺陷多动障碍（attention deficit hyperactivity disorder，ADHD）的一线用药。
目的：本研究旨在测试不同剂量哌甲酯（10mg、20mg、40mg及安慰剂）的急性给药，对健康年轻人的多维度认知功能的影响。
方法：共计36名年轻大学生及毕业生参与本研究，受试者接受了注意力、情景记忆与工作记忆相关测试。
结果：所有测试的表现均未观察到显著差异，但在自我报告的幸福感评分上，存在剂量依赖性效应（40mg组＞安慰剂组）。
结论：结合近期研究文献，精神兴奋剂类药物（如哌甲酯）仅在认知过程低于最优水平时可改善表现，而本研究的受试者并未出现该情况。我们推测，“哌甲酯可提升健康年轻人认知表现并支持其使用”这一认知，可能源于该药物所带来的主观幸福感提升。