A study conducted by researchers has discovered that using prescription stimulants or "smart" drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall while not living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could decrease productivity and increase the amount of time needed to complete tasks.
Despite this, students who were not diagnosed or were not living with ADHD have been often abused by students who were not diagnosed or not living with the ADHD neurotype.
The researchers have given 40 participants (17 males, 23 females) aged 18 to 35 either 30mg of methylphenidate (MPH, or Ritalin/Concerta),15mg of dextroamphetamine (DEX like Adderall), 200mg of modafinil (MOD), or a placebo at four different testing sessions that occurred at least a week apart from one another.
Upon receiving the dosage, the participants were made to perform different tasks, such as the knapsack optimization problem, to test their problem-solving skills, reaction time, spatial planning, and working memory. All the tasks were designed to stimulate the complex decision-making and problem-solving tasks encountered in everyday life.
The study found out that taking the "smart" drugs decreased participants' performance in difficult tasks and problem-solving. While the doses enhanced their motivation, the amount of time they spent solving a problem increased by 50%.
Scientists added they "spent almost as much time on the easiest instances under MPH as on the hardest instances under a placebo, without any corresponding improvement in performance," which came to the conclusion that while people's efforts increased, the quality of their efforts decreased, which meant doing more but their decisions were not as calculated as they were random.
They also observed a reversal effect on those who used prescription drugs, where they performed below average when using it compared to when they took a placebo, on which they performed above average.
"Our results suggest that these drugs don't actually make you 'smarter. Because of the dopamine the drugs induce, we expected to see increased motivation, and they do motivate one to try harder," said University of Cambridge professor Peter Bossaerts.
He added those who performed poorly with the placebo only showed minor performance improvements after taking a drug.
Adderall Shortage for ADHDers
Meanwhile, in a guest commentary on the ADDitude Magazine website, Dr. Edward Hallowell observed the Adderall shortage had caused much anxiety to his medically-diagnosed ADHD clients, especially because the medication would assist them in having a proper executive function.
"This uncertainty is causing extreme hardship for many of my patients," he said. "While stimulant medication is not exactly like insulin...it is like eyeglasses. Without your glasses, your execution of everything suffers."
Hallowell called the limiting of the production of Adderall as part of an effort to reduce or prevent the reselling or misuse of the drug, specifically for neurotypical students, as nonsense. As the number of individuals getting diagnosed with ADHD was increasing, so too was the demand for the drug.
"It's good news that the demand is high because that means more people are getting diagnosed," he added. "Not too long ago, it was hard to find a doctor who knew enough to diagnose and treat ADHD.
Now that there are more people, especially adults, being diagnosed with neurodiverse disabilities like ADHD and autism, Hallowell saw it as necessary for clinicians like him to "be able to prescribe for them the medications they need to live more productive, fulfilled lives."
Related article: Local Pharmacies Suffering From Prolonged Adderall Shortages
