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Cognition-enhancing drugs common among academics
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A survey of individuals who read the journal Nature, a technical bioscience publication, reveals that roughly one in five use prescription drugs to improve their focus, concentration, or memory.
来自纽约路透社的报道：通过对阅读生物技术杂志－“自然”的人群进行调查，发现大约有五分之一的人使用药物来提高自己的注意力、专心性和记忆。
A total of 1,400 people from 60 countries responded to the online survey. The subjects were asked specifically about the use of three drugs: methylphenidate (Ritalin), which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but is considered on college campuses as a \"study aid\"; modafinil (Provigil), which is prescribed for sleep disorders, but is used by some to fight general fatigue or jet lag; beta-blockers, cardiovascular drugs prescribed for heart failure and high blood pressure, which are also known for their anti-anxiety effect.
对来自60个国家的1400人进行了网上调查。调查题目主要是是否使用下列三种药物：中枢兴药哌甲酯(利他林)，用于治疗注意力缺失活动过度紊乱症，但是大学生常用来作为促进学习的“增强剂”；提神药Provigil(modafinil，莫达非尼)，主要用于睡眠紊乱者，但是被一些人用来对付疲劳和时差紊乱；治疗心衰和高血压的抗心血管药倍他洛克也发现具有抗焦虑的功能。
Brendan Maher, a feature and commentary editor with Nature, analyzed the results and found that among those \"who choose to use,\" methylphenidate was the most popular agent: 62 percent of users reported taking it. Modafinil was taken by 44 percent of users and beta blockers by 15 percent. Thus, many of the subjects were using more than one drug
”自然”杂志的评述编辑Brendan Maher对此调查结果进行分析并发现哪些人在使用这些药物。其中利他林使用最广泛，大约有62%承认使用此种药物。莫达非尼的使用者占44％，而倍他洛克的使用者占15％。其中许多人使用不止一种药物。
When asked about use of other drugs, many of the subjects reported taking Adderall, a drug prescribed for ADHD containing a mixture of amphetamines. Other drugs used included centrophenoxine, piracetam, dextroamphetamine sulfate, and alternative medicines, such as ginkgo and omega-3 fatty acids.
当被问及其它药物，他们多数使用治疗注意力缺陷与多动障碍(ADHD)治疗药物安非他明；其它药物还包括氯酯醒、比烷酮醋胺、右旋苯丙胺，和其它替代药物如银杏制剂或欧米咖-3脂肪酸等。
The use of cognition-enhancing drugs did not vary by age group, the report indicates. Maher said this may be surprising to some people since prior research has suggested increased usage in 18- to 25-years-olds.
研究称使用增强认知的药物的不同年龄人群差异不大。Maher 说，这是一个令人惊讶的结果，因为以前研究认为服药主要人群集中在10－25岁。
Improving concentration was the main reason cited for using these drugs with enhancing focus on a specific task being a close second.
人们主要使用在执行某些特殊紧急的任务时会使用这些药来提高注意力。
Usage patterns were evenly split between daily, weekly, monthly or no more than once a year. Unpleasant side effects, including headache and jitteriness, among others, were reported by roughly half of the users. The emergence of side effects did not correlate with decreased frequency of use, however.
人们使用的频率包括每天、每周、每月或不超过一年。随之而来的药物的副作用，包括头疼、神经过敏以及其它反应可发生在近一半的服药者身上。但是，这些副作用与服用次数下降联系不大。
Four fifths of respondents believed that healthy adults should be permitted to take cognition-enhancing agents if they want to and 69 percent said they would risk mild adverse effects to take the drugs themselves.
五分之四的被调查者认为健康成人可以允许自愿服用“益智药”，其中69％的人认为他们会在服药的同时产生轻微副作用。
Eighty-six percent of respondents said that children under 16 years should be restricted from using these drugs, yet one third of respondents said they would feel pressured to give their child these agents if other children were taking them.
86％的人认为16岁以下的少年应该限制使用这些药物，而三分之一的人如果其它年轻人服药而给自己小孩服药会觉得压力很大。
In a related commentary, Dr. Barbara Sahakian and Dr. Sharon Morein-Zamir, UK researchers whose 2007 study of cognition-enhancing drug use prompted the current survey, caution that \"although the appeal of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers...is understandable, potential users, both healthy and diseased, must consider the pros and cons of their choices.\"
Barbara Sahakian 博士和Sharon Morein-Zamir博士是2007年使用益智药调查的英国研究人员，他们警告虽然用药物提高智力和认知愿望是可以理解的，但是那些服药的健康人和病人必须仔细考虑服药的好处和坏处。
Sahakian and Morein-Zamir, neuroscientists with the University of Cambridge, add that \"scientists, doctors, and policy-makers should provide easy access to information about the advantages and dangers of using cognitive-enhancing drugs and set out clear guidelines for their future use.\"
Sahakian and Morein-Zamir是剑桥大学的神经科学家，他们还认为现在的科学家、医生和政策制定者都可以很容易地得到使用益智药的好处和副作用的信息，所以他们应该对自己将来使用药物有所指导。
智力能够充分稳定发挥的状态——智力内稳态（thinking-specific homeostasis, TSH）——就是大脑的最佳状态。疲劳引起大脑远离TSH，一切有助于恢复TSH的手段都是增智药或增智方法。现有的增智药都有副作用，引起失眠或头痛等不良反应。这里介绍一种没有副作用的增智方法，就是鼻腔内低强度激光照射疗法（intranasal low intensity laser therapy, ILILT）。ILILT只是将用于照明的光引入鼻腔，是一种完全自然的方法。目前业已发现，ILILT可以改善睡眠、增加褪黑素和降低β淀粉样蛋白等。年近八旬的著名的光学院士刘颂豪教授经常使用，他说，睡前照射一下，睡眠很香。经常熬夜的网友可以试一下，绝对没有副作用，只要耐心调节照射强度或时间，就可以取得疗效。
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发表于 2008-4-22 11:57:39
