May 13, 2014
New research from Drexel University College of Medicine finds young people who misuse or take illegal stimulants – known as "smart drugs" – risk long-term impairments to brain function. It is estimated that more than one million American students misuse smart drugs to increase their attention span, memory and capacity to stay awake, but investigators from Drexel's Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, along with researchers from the University of Delaware, found that any short-term boost in mental performance due to smart drugs may come at a heavy cost: long-term decrease in brain plasticity, which is necessary for task switching, planning ahead and adaptive flexibility in behavior.
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