UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and UCL Institute of Neurology, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
Trends Cogn Sci. 2011 Jan;15(1):28-36. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2010.11.002. Epub 2010 Dec 9.
Attempts to improve cognitive function in patients with brain disorders have become the focus of intensive research efforts. A recent emerging trend is the use of so-called cognitive enhancers by healthy individuals. Here, we consider some of the effects - positive and negative - that current drugs have in neurological conditions and healthy people. We conclude that, to date, experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated relatively modest overall effects, most probably because of substantial variability in response both across and within individuals. We discuss biological factors that might account for such variability and highlight the need to improve testing methods and to extend our understanding of how drugs modulate specific cognitive processes at the systems or network level.
改善脑疾病患者认知功能的尝试已成为密集研究工作的焦点。最近出现的一种新趋势是健康个体使用所谓的认知增强剂。在这里，我们考虑了一些当前药物在神经疾病和健康人群中的积极和消极影响。我们的结论是，到目前为止，实验和临床研究表明，总体效果相对较小，这很可能是因为个体之间和个体内部的反应存在很大差异。我们讨论了可能导致这种差异的生物学因素，并强调需要改进测试方法，并加深我们对药物如何在系统或网络水平上调节特定认知过程的理解。
