"머리 좋아지는" 약

청소년을 위한 신경과학

"Smart" Drugs?

지능향상 약?

더 많이 기억하고 - 빠르게 생각하고 - 현명해 진다

시험을 위해서 공부하는 대신 한 알의 약을 삼키면 된다면 얼마나 좋지 않을까요? 그런 “지능향상 약”이 있을까요? 조금 나른한 느낌이 들때 한 알의 약으로“또렷한 정신”을 회복할 수는 있습니다.

사실, 연구자들은 정신적 능력을 향상시킬 수 있는 물질을 연구하고 있습니다. 이런 물질들은 “인지기능 활성제” , “지능향상 약” 또는 “노오트로픽제(뇌기능 개선제)“라 불립니다. (“노오트로픽제;Nootropic”는 그리스어에서 유래한 말로 “노오스;noos” = 정신과 “트로포스; tropos” = 변화된, ~쪽으로, 바꾸다). 인지기능 활성으로 생각되는 것에는 몇가지가 있습니다. 예를들어, 기억력, 학습력, 주의력, 집중력, 문제 해결력, 논리력, 사회적 기술, 의사 결정과 계획 능력의 향상 등을 의미합니다.

대부분의 사례에서 인지기능 활성제는 신경학적 또는 정신적 장애가 있는 사람들의 치료제로 사용되어 왔지만, 이런 물질을 사용하는 더 똑똑해지기를 원하는 건강한 “정상” 사람들의 수가 늘고 있습니다. 비록 특정 “지능향상 화학물을 담고 있는 “지능향상” 음료, 지능향상바, 영양제 등을 만드는 제조사들이 많이 있지만, 이것이 정말 효과가 있는가에 대한 증거는 거의 없습니다. 다른 실험실에서의 결과들은 각양각생의 결과물을 보여줍니다; 몇몇 실험실은 기억력과 학습력에 대한 긍정적 효과가 있다고 하는 반면 다른 실험실에서는 효과가 없다고 합니다. 보통의 건강한 사람들을 대상으로 제대로 계획된 실험은 거의 없습니다.

인지기능을 활성화 시키는 물질에 관한 증거를 살펴봅시다;

이러한 물질이 어떻게 작용할까요?

1. 뇌의 대사 증가
2. 대뇌 순환 증가
3. 물리적, 화학적 손상으로부터 뇌를 보호

이러한 물질들의 가능한 효과는 무엇일까요?

1. 정신적 “에너지” 증가
2. 증가된 각성 상태
3. 우울증 감소
4. 기억력 향상
5. 학습능력의 향상

특정 인지기능 활성제

1. Hydergine - 뇌혈관을 확장시키는 “지능향상 약”
2. Piracetam
3. Aniracetam
4. BMY-21502/BMs-181168
5. Minaprine
6. Oxiracetam
7. Pramiracetam

신경전달 물질에 작용하는 약물

1. Linopirdine (UP 996)
2. Physostigmine - 아세틸콜린에스테라아제(AChE) 억제제 - 단시간 지속 효과, 알츠하이머 병과 외상성 뇌손상 환자의 치료제로 사용되고 있음
3. Sabeluzole (R58735)
4. Tacrine (tetrahydroaminoacridine) - 아세틸콜린에스테라아제(AChE) 억제제, 독성이 있을 수 있음
5. Vasopressin - 뇌하수체에서 유리되는 신경 팹티드
6. Methylphenidate (Ritalin) and dextroamphetamine - 주의력결핍 과다행동장애 치료에 사용되는 흥분제. 이러한 약물들은 다양한 신경전달물질 체계에 영향을 줌
7. Amantadine - 도파민 효현제
8. Nicotine and Caffeine - 각성상태를 증가 시켜 “지능향상 약”으로 간주됨

영양소

1. Acetyl L Carnitine
2. Choline - 아세틸콜린 전구체; 달걀, 육류, 우유는 콜린의 좋은 원료가 됨.
3. Cytidine-5'-diphosphate choline
4. L-alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine
5. 2-Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) - 뇌, 멸치, 꽁치에서 발견; found ; 아세틸콜린 생산 증가.
6. Phospatidylserine - 뉴런의 막과 시냅스의 표면에서 발견.

허브를 포함한 다른 물질들

1. BR-16A - 인도의 허브
2. Ginkgo Biloba - 중국과 유럽에서 약제로 사용되어온 나무에서 추출. 대뇌의 순환과 글루코스의 이용률을 증가시키고 콜린의 재흡수를 증가시킴. 알츠하이머 질환 치료제로 사용되어 왔으나 건강한 남성을 대상으로 한 연구에서 효과가 없다고 밝혀짐.
3. Ma-huang - 중국의 허브
4. Oxymethacil - 뇌의 분자적 산화를 감소시킴.
5. Pyritinol - 비타민 B6와 유사; 대뇌의 혈류 증가.

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Some smart drugs can be found in health food stores; others are imported or are drugs that are intended for other disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. There are many Internet web sites, books, magazines and newspaper articles detailing the supposed effects of smart drugs. There are also plenty of advertisements and mail-order businesses that try to sell “smart drugs” to the public. However, rarely do these businesses or the popular press report results that show the failure of smart drugs to improve memory or learning. Rather, they try to show that their products have miraculous effects on the brain and can improve mental functioning. Wouldn't it be easy to learn something by “popping a pill” or drinking a soda laced with a smart drug? This would be much easier than taking the time to study. Feeling dull? Take your brain in for a mental tune up by popping a pill!

Some data suggest that cognitive enhancers do improve some types of learning and memory, but many other data say these substances have no effect. The strongest evidence for these substances is for the improvement of cognitive function in people with brain injury or disease (for example, Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury). Although “popular” books and companies that sell smart drugs will try to convince you that these drugs work, the evidence for any significant effects of these substances in normal people is weak. There are also important side-effects that must be considered. Many of these substances effect neurotransmitters systems in the central nervous system. The effects of these chemicals on neurological function and behavior is unknown. Moreover, the long-term safety of these substances has not been adequately tested. Also, the possibility that these substances will interact with other substances a person might take is untested. A substance such as the herb Ma-huang may be dangerous if a person stops taking it suddenly.

Many of the positive effects of cognitive enhancers have been seen in experiments using rats. For example, scientists can train rats on a specific test, such as maze running, and then see if the “smart drug” can improve the rats' performance. It is difficult to see how many of these data can be applied to human learning and memory. For example, what if the “smart drug” made the rat hungry? Wouldn't a hungry rat run faster in the maze to receive a food reward than a non-hungry rat? Maybe the rat did not get any “smarter” and did not have any improved memory. Perhaps the rat ran faster simply because it was hungrier. Therefore, it was the rat's motivation to run the maze, not its increased cognitive ability that affected the performance. Thus, it is important to be very careful when interpreting changes observed in these types of animal learning and memory experiments.

One symptom of Alzheimer's disease is a reduced brain level of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. It is thought that an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease might be to increase brain levels of acetylcholine. Another possible treatment would be to slow the death of neurons that contain acetylcholine. Two drugs, Tacrine and Donepezil, are both inhibitors of the enzyme (acetylcholinesterase) that breaks down acetylcholine. These drugs are approved in the US for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

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Moral and Ethical Questions about the Use of Smart Drugs

Here are some questions for you to think about IF and WHEN smart drugs are developed:

1. What would happen if people got smarter? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
2. What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of short-term and long-term “smartness”?
3. If such drugs existed, should they be manufactured, distributed and used?
4. If they can be used, who should get them?
5. Should they be banned like some drugs in athletics (e.g., stimulants, steroids)?
6. Is going to a special school or class or getting a tutor different from taking a “smart drug”? What about learning a trick to solve a math problem? Isn't this like taking a special drug? What about getting a computer to help with homework? Isn't this like using technology to help you get smarter and learn more?
7. Should it be illegal to pop a smart pill before a spelling test or before you take the SAT? Would this be like taking a stimulant before a track meet or swimming race? Would this be cheating?
8. As people got smarter, would their personality change?
9. What would happen to people's emotional and social behavior?
10. We have drugs to improve our mood (antidepressants) and to look better (weight loss drugs). We even have a drug to increase the height of children (growth factor). What is wrong with a drug that makes us smarter?
11. What about the benefits of such drugs? Couldn't these substances make people better drivers, workers and teachers?
12. Could important new discoveries and cures for diseases be made faster if we were smarter?