D
i up. Think fast. Get smart!
At one time or another, we’ve all had tho words hurled at us—or we’ve murmured them to ourlves in moments of doubt.
Such comments don’t always work, but they do reflect something basic in us all: a desire to turn on automatic in-sight and instant intelligence at the drop of a pointy hat.That’s why it’s not surprising that, in trendy articles and conversations the days, the ancient admonition has a new
twist: If you really want to get smart, get with it—and get
turned on to one of the new substances
that are being promoted to help
you do just that.
They’re called “smart drugs”
by the media, “nootropics” (from
the Greek words for “acting on the
mind”) and “cognition expand-ers” by rearchers and students of the new art of getting smart.
But no matter what el you call them, call smart drugs a
hot topic the days—and one that ems a sure bet to stay
hot from now on.
How hot? Very hot, according to trend-spotters.
In fact, Fortune magazine has even pegged smart drugs
as a billion-dollar industry of the not-so-distant future.On the other hand, if all of this smells vaguely of snake oil
angel bladeand late-night TV infomercial hype
to you, then you’re not alone.That’s one reason rearch-ers are turning their focus to the “smartness” of smart-drug regimens and the media has be-gun checking out the claims of smarter-living-through-chemistry proponents.That’s also why we’ve put together this pamphlet. Becau smart drugs and
would have us believe, we’d all better start getting smart about smart drugs—fast.o smart drugs work ? In lots of ways, yes.
But do they work as well as smart-drug proponents claim? Not necessarily.
Becau even though urs rave about the sub-stances’ brain-boosting effects, many rearchers think that at least some are only revved-up by a placebo ef-fect—plain-old wishful thinking.
Doubters point to the fact that intelligence and creativity have strong genetic roots that aren’t easily altered. And the sheer complexity of the brain and its component parts makes simplistic thinking em dumb when it doesn’t em dangerous.
For now, there’s limited evidence backing
claims for the “hard” smart drugs. Studies bad on Alzheimer’s patients and other victims of brain tr
auma show promi, but rearchers warn that tho effects may not translate to healthy urs. Drugs can’t fix what isn’t broken.So for the time being, the smartest way to take smart drugs is with a grain of salt and a gallon of caution. Smart nutrients probably won’t hurt, but it may be a good idea to wait for rearchers (who earned their smarts the old-fash-ioned way) to confirm the harder drugs’ effectiveness.If and when they do, be careful then, too—or you might get crushed by the crowds outside the drug store. I
I What are smart drugs?The substances looly known as “smart drugs” are a
biochemical mixed bag: vitamins, herbs, nutrients, and pre-scription drugs that share one key feature: their advocates’
claims that they enhance memory, creativity, alertness,
learning, or physical performance.
Some of the drugs first came under rious scrutiny as
possible treatments for aging-related mental decline.
Others—including the B vitamins and such amino acids
as phenylalanine—have been tried over the years to treat
the psychopharmacological fallout of drug abu.Still others, like melatonin and DHEA , are synthetic ver-sions of natural hormones which, when taken as supple-ments, are said to optimize physical and emotional well-be-ing and mental performance.
as asOther “smart” substances, such as ginng and ginkgo
biloba, are among the oldest herbal medicines known.
I How do they work?In a lot of ways. Some increa blood flow to areas of the brain involved with memory. Others speed the growth and
repair of nerve cells in the central nervous system.Others affect mental functions by altering process that modify brain activity.pyramid是什么意思
Probably the most-noted effect of smart drugs involves changes in the quantity and quality of neu-rotransmitters, the chemical mesn-gers that convey impuls between nerve groups, along with such socially-approved additives as coffee, tea, or Jolt ® Cola.
Heady question: Can mental
agility be amped up via the u of smart drugs and nutri ents?W
and how safely — do they work?Get Smart!
This is one in a ries of publications on drugs, behavior, and health published by Do It Now Foundation. Plea call or write for a list of current titles, or visit our web site at www.doitnow .
Fortune magazine has pegged smart
drugs as a billion-dollar industry of the not-so-distant future.
Stay Smart!
“Smart” drug urs go a step further, hoping that mega-dos of benign chemicals can rai brain levels of the pre-cursors the body needs to asmble such neurotransmitters and otherwi fine-tune mental and biological process.
I Are smart drugs natural?
Some are. And we’ve known about them for a long time.
Take fish, for example. We’ve all heard fish called “brain food,” and it looks like it isn’t called that for nothing. There’s evidence that afood bolsters the brain through a nutrient called dimethylamino-ethanol, or DMAE. In ani-mal tests, DMAE has been shown to improve memory and learning, increa energy levels, and elevate mood.
Other “smart” foods and nutrients em to
work in similar ways—by driving up brain levels
of fuel needed for neurotransmitter replenishment.
I How many smart nutrients are there?
In general, smart nutrients fall into three basic groups: I Diet supplements. Many urs start the day with a balanced breakfast of such supplements as vitamin B-5 and choline. They’re converted in the brain to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that figures into memory and learning.
I Herbs. Ginng, ginkgo biloba, and gotu kola—the three G’s of ancient Chine medicine—are among the most commonly ud “smart” herbs and may sharpen memory and concentration by boosting blood flow in the brain.
I Amino acids. Leading players in the smart drug diet, amino acids such as phenylalanine and tyrosine rve as building blocks for body proteins and the transmitters that regulate arousal, concentration, and energy.
As we pointed out, we all take in smart nutrients every day in the foods we eat. But most smart drug-folk e virtue in excess, and augment their supplies with supplements.
Then again, some turn to the “hard stuff”—prescription drugs and black-market elixirs that are purported to maxi-mize brain power.
I What’s ‘hard’about them?
It’s hard to pigeonhole them, for one thing. And it’s harder still to predict their potential actions and side effects.
Becau unlike their kinder, gentler nutrient neighbors,
新加坡留学的政策要求
the chemicals are often powerful pharmacological agents
that produce a variety of far-reaching effects.
In fact, most “hard” smart drugs are ud medically to
treat specific dias and medical conditions—from dizzi-
ness and age spots to injury-related brain damage or
Alzheimer’s dia.
I How are they different?
They’re different in lots of ways. For starters, unlike the
kinder, gentler buzz often
linked to natural products,
some smart drugs trigger full-
fledged psychoactive effects.
And instead of just providing
bigger/better building blocksromen
for the brain, some smart
drugs are believed to alter the
way the brain puts tho
blocks together.
Topping the list of the
commonly-ud “hard” smart
韩语翻译机
drugs are:
l Vas opres s in (Diapid®). A pituitary hormone mar-
keted as a nasal spray to improve bladder control in diabe-
tes, it also triggers relea of acetylcholine.
l Hydergine. One of the most widely-ud treatments
for nility, hydergine is believed to stimulate nerve cell
洋服
growth and protein synthesis in the brain.
l Piracetam (Nootropyl®). Widely ud in Europe to
treat alcoholism, nility, stroke, and Alzheimer’s dia,
piracetam has no approved medical u in the U.S. today,
according to the Food and Drug Administration. The drug is
believed to aid development of new brain cell receptors.
Most “hard” smart drugs are legal—but hard to come
by. Since they’re prescribed for specific medical conditions,
doctors usually won’t recommend them merely to treat cu-
riosity about their alleged “smart” effects.
Others can be obtained—often legally—through inter-
方法英语national pharmaceutical suppliers.
A variety of web sites have made information about nec-
essary procedures and likely distributors easily accessible,
fueling the explosion of interest in “smart” chemical agents
in recent years.
U nlike the kinder/gentler buzz often linked to natural products,
some smart drugs trigger full-fledged psychoactive effects.
Thinking caps. “Smart” nutrients
may be big bu siness (and getting
bigger all the time), bu t worriers
wonder if they also carry big risks.
I Are smart drugs safe?
Yes, no, and not necessarily.
Compared with most medications, even “hard” smart
drugs em relatively side-effect free when taken in pre-
scribed dos for approved medical us.
It’s when they’re not taken as directed or when they’re
taken to ward off hypothetical risks that worries ari.
Few studies have tracked the drugs’ effects in healthy
urs. And rearchers wonder about the potential for
problems among smart-drug pioneers gulping down
untested combinations of chemicals—often in
dos exceeding tho approved for medical u.
Problems linked to smart nutrients are similar.
Becau it is possible to get too much of a good
thing. Large amounts of some nutrients, particu-
larly amino acids, can add as much to the work-
mistress2013 奥斯卡
load of the liver and kidneys as a similar amount
of food. And some vitamins—particularly vita-
mins A, D, E, and K—can be harmful in high dos.
Other risks center on the way the products are sold,
rather than the substances themlves.
Since dietary products are legally classified as nutritional
supplements, they don’t have to meet the same standards of
safety and testing as do prescription drugs.
That means that products which carry potentially harm-
ful effects—choline, for instance, can cau diarrhea, while
large dos of phenylalanine can cau problems for tho
with high blood pressure—are often sold without specific
warning labels.
Occasionally, even relatively safe nutrients can po
big problems, as was the ca in 1989, when the amino
acid L-tryptophan was linked to an outbreak of eosi-
nophilia myalgia syndrome(EMS), a painful
muscle and blood disorder.
Although problems were eventually traced back
to a single contaminated batch of L-tryptophan (and
all products containing it were pulled off the U.S. mar-
ket), 31 deaths and 1,500 illness were linked to the
chemical.
