Pretty good review, all in all. For the most part it is critical of the idea of using smart drugs. For example:
So what could be the pitfalls here? One snag illustrates a more general problem with the DMF strategy. Unless it is applied with extreme caution, a virtue not associated with all self-experimenters, taking self-designed cocktails of "smart-pills" may carry significant but unknown risks.
Smart Drugs 2 lays itself wide open to criticism; but then it takes on an impossible task. In the perennial trade-off between accessibility and scholarly rigour, compromises are made on both sides. Ritual disclaimers aside, DMF's tone can at times seem too uncritically gung-ho. Their drug-profiles and cited studies don't always give due weight to the variations in sample size and the quality of controls. Nor do they highlight the uncertain calibre of the scholarly journals in which some of the most interesting results are published. DMFs inclusion of anecdote-studded personal testimonials is almost calculated to inflame medical orthodoxy. Moreover it should be stressed that the scientific gold-standard of large, placebo-controlled, double-blind cross-over prospective trials are still quite rare in this field as a whole.
and pretty supportive or a more natural approach instead:
In practice, the first and most boring advice is often the most important. Many potential users of smart pills would be better and more simply advised to stop taking tranquillisers, sleeping tablets or toxic recreational drugs; eat omega-3 rich foods, more vegetables and generally improve their diet; and try more mentally challenging tasks. One of the easiest ways of improving memory, for instance, is to increase the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. This can be achieved by running, swimming, dancing, brisk walking, and more sex. Regular vigorous exercise also promotes nerve cell growth in the hippocampus. Hippocampal brain cell growth potentially enhances mood, memory and cognitive vitality alike. Intellectuals are prone to echo J.S. Mill: "Better to be an unhappy Socrates than a happy pig". But happiness is typically good for the hippocampus; by contrast, the reduced hippocampal volume anatomically characteristic of depressives correlates with the length of their depression.
In our current state of ignorance, homely remedies are still sometimes best. Thus moderate consumption of adenosine-inhibiting, common-or-garden caffeine improves concentration, mood and alertness; enhances acetylcholine release in the hippocampus; and statistically reduces the risk of suicide. Regular coffee drinking induces competitive and reversible inhibition of MAO enzymes type A and B owing to coffee's neuroactive beta-carbolines. Coffee is also rich in antioxidants. Non-coffee drinkers are around three times more likely to contract Parkinson's disease. A Michigan study found caffeine use was correlated with enhanced male virility in later life.
Before resorting to pills, aspiring intellectual heavyweights might do well to start the day with a low-fat/high carbohydrate breakfast: muesli rather than tasty well-buttered croissants. This will enhance memory, energy and blood glucose levels. An omega-3 rich diet will enhance all-round emotional and intellectual health too. A large greasy fry-up, on the other hand, can easily leave one feeling muddle-headed, drowsy and lethargic. If one wants to stay sharp, and to blunt the normal mid-afternoon dip, then eating big fatty lunches isn't a good idea either. Fat releases cholecystokinin (CCK) from the duodenum. Modest intravenous infusions of CCK make one demonstrably dopey and subdued.
The bottom line for me is that virtually all drugs have proven side effects. What many do not consider is that in reality NO drug has ever been tested to be safe and no drug has even fully been tested for all possible side effects, simply because drugs are tested solely by themselves against a placebo - and not in combination with other prescribed and over the counter medications. In the real world, almost no one takes just one drug without any other prescribed or over the counter medications. And once you add a single other prescribed or over the counter medication, the the previous results can be thrown out the window.
I can hardly force myself to take a single drug for any reason. If it comes down to taking a cocktail of drugs to be smart, then I will gladly remain blissfully dumb.
