The idea of being able to pop a pill and miraculously become smarter seems like it could only be the reality of a Hollywood movie. People have been searching for ways to boost their brainpower perhaps for all of history. Caffeine is possibly the oldest and most popular method of enhancing alertness and attention. Other historical cognitive enhancements have included amphetamines and Ritalin, however these can be addictive and come with a range of side effects, including hyperactivity, loss of appetite, and psychosis. Another recent advance in the cognitive arena was Aricept, which was approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease in the 1990s and has been shown in some studies to enhance memory and attention in healthy individuals.  Â
A new systematic review emerging from decades of research suggests that a safe and effective “smart drug†might have achieved its first success. Researchers have found that Modafinil boosts higher-order cognitive function without causing serious side effects. Modafinil has actually been prescribed in the U.S. since 1998 and was originally used to treat sleep-related conditions such as narcolepsy and sleep apnea. It has shown to heighten alertness, memory, and attention similar to the effects of caffeine. After more than two decades of research was reviewed, researchers realized that participants who were asked to do complex and difficult tasks after taking Modafinil were more accurate, which suggests that it may affect higher cognitive functions—mainly executive functions but also attention and learning.
Setting aside the ethical considerations regarding brain boosters, certain groups of individuals might benefit from a safe and effective cognitive enhancement, including children and teens with attention deficit/hyperactivity, as well as individuals with cognitive deficits and neurodegenerative diseases. Several clinical trials found Modafinil to be safe when given to children with ADHD, but the trials lasted only a few months, making it difficult to ascertain the potential effects of long-term use. Research also suggests that cognition-enhancing drugs may offer the greatest performance boost among individuals with low-to-average intelligence. These findings led University of Oxford researchers to propose that if Modafinil was selectively given to people who needs it the most, many ethical concerns about the drugs’ use would be alleviated, and could even reduce opportunity inequality.
Many doctors are currently prescribing Modafinil and many individuals are currently taking it. Although this vast and promising research on Modafinil mounts to a successful first step, critics advise to not run to the pharmacy quite yet. Trials have not yet been done on Modafinil’s long-term effectiveness and safety. It is also unknown if Modafinil might lose its edge with repeated use, a phenomenon familiar to many coffee drinkers.