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Memory--Now in Handy Nasal Spray Form
A group of German researchers have developed a nasal spray that appears to improve memory. The spray, derived from a chemical from the body's immune system called interlukin-6, improves "emotional and procedural" memory formation "when administered through the nose" and coupled with a good night's sleep.
To test the nasal spray, researchers asked a group of college students to read stories two nights in a row:
On each night after reading either an emotional or neutral short story, they sprayed a fluid into their nostrils which contained either interleukin-6 or a placebo fluid. The subsequent sleep and brain electric activity was monitored throughout the night. The next morning subjects wrote down as many words as they could remember from each of the two stories. Those who received the dose of IL-6 could remember more words.
But college students looking for a last minute boost shouldn't get too excited. News of the laboratory nasal spray comes as colleges have begun looking at cracking down on "academic doping," or, in other words, the growing practice of taking cognitive enhancing drugs to improve performance on a test or other academic challenge. According to the Los Angeles Times, concerns over "academic doping" stem from fears that over time, doping will become mandatory to compete.
[T]he use of methylphenidate and amphetamines is as high as 25% on some U.S. college campuses. The most academically competitive schools are thought to have the highest usage rates of these drugs. The more students who take the drugs, the more non-cheating student are put at a disadvantage and thus may feel compelled to cheat, too.
Of course, the potential for cognitive enhancing drugs is pretty significant. Nor, for that matter, are the lines between what counts as a "drug" as clear cut as they might seem. I'm drinking coffee as I write this, for example--and am benefiting from the properties in caffeine that keep me awake and focused.
Expect these sorts of questions about brain enhancement to begin popping up more frequently, and more prominently. But for now, more coffee.