doc, it’s my narcolepsy, doc, you got to fix me up

From New Scientist: 11 steps to a better brain. Found the link on slashdot; I do some of this stuff, but not enough. I especially like the narcolepsy medicine, which I think I must see the man about: “A few drugs that might do the job, known as “cognitive enhancement”, are already on the market, and a few dozen others are on the way. Perhaps the best-known is modafinil. Licensed to treat narcolepsy, the condition that causes people to suddenly fall asleep, it has notable effects in healthy people too. Modafinil can keep a person awake and alert for 90 hours straight, with none of the jitteriness and bad concentration that amphetamines or even coffee seem to produce. (see bolow for more)

In fact, with the help of modafinil, sleep-deprived people can perform even better than their well-rested, unmedicated selves. The forfeited rest doesn’t even need to be made good. Military research is finding that people can stay awake for 40 hours, sleep the normal 8 hours, and then pull a few more all-nighters with no ill effects. It’s an open secret that many, perhaps most, prescriptions for modafinil are written not for people who suffer from narcolepsy, but for those who simply want to stay awake. Similarly, many people are using Ritalin not because they suffer from attention deficit or any other disorder, but because they want superior concentration during exams or heavy-duty negotiations.

The pharmaceutical pipeline is clogged with promising compounds - drugs that act on the nicotinic receptors that smokers have long exploited, drugs that work on the cannabinoid system to block pot-smoking-type effects. Some drugs have also been specially designed to augment memory. Many of these look genuinely plausible: they seem to work, and without any major side effects.

So why aren’t we all on cognitive enhancers already? “We need to be careful what we wish for,” says Daniele Piomelli at the University of California at Irvine. He is studying the body’s cannabinoid system with a view to making memories less emotionally charged in people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Tinkering with memory may have unwanted effects, he warns. “Ultimately we may end up remembering things we don’t want to.” End quote.

It would sure beat frying your brain on speed, woodnit? Philip K. Dick did that, by way of cranking out novels for low bux, and after about twenty years of that he was seeing sinister faces in the clouds. When I think of how much modafinil would have helped me a few years ago, well, damn. and i’m beating my brain against a novel that, if done right, would be a lot more complicated than that one, and my brain is frayed. so, yeah, I think I’ll see the man.

posted by tbuckner on 05/27 | tech & science - bio | | send entry