Smart drugs

Guests: Anjan Chatterjee, Nicole Vincent

Use of “smart drugs” is on the rise. In high-pressure workplaces, people are popping prescription drugs like Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD, and Modafinil, which is used to treat narcolepsy. These cognitive enhancers have also become more commonplace on college campuses and in high schools. Students are using them to stay alert and awake while cramming or taking exams. But what effects do these drugs have our minds and our bodies? And what does it say about our culture that people are driven to take “productivity pills?” Marty talks with a neuroscientist and a philosopher about the biological and ethical issues raised by the cognitive enhancing drugs. Our guests ANJAN CHATTERJEE, Elliott Professor and Chair of Neurology at Pennsylvania Hospital and a member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, and NICOLE VINCENT, associate professor of philosophy, law, and neuroscience at Georgia State University.