TY  - JOUR
AU  - Daubner, Johanna
AU  - Arshaad, Muhammad Imran
AU  - Henseler, Christina
AU  - Hescheler, Jürgen
AU  - Ehninger, Dan
AU  - Broich, Karl
AU  - Rawashdeh, Oliver
AU  - Papazoglou, Anna
AU  - Weiergräber, Marco
TI  - Pharmacological Neuroenhancement: Current Aspects of Categorization, Epidemiology, Pharmacology, Drug Development, Ethics, and Future Perspectives.
JO  - Neural plasticity
VL  - 2021
SN  - 1687-5443
CY  - New York, NY
PB  - Hindawi
M1  - DZNE-2021-00263
SP  - 1 - 27
PY  - 2021
AB  - Recent pharmacoepidemiologic studies suggest that pharmacological neuroenhancement (pNE) and mood enhancement are globally expanding phenomena with distinctly different regional characteristics. Sociocultural and regulatory aspects, as well as health policies, play a central role in addition to medical care and prescription practices. The users mainly display self-involved motivations related to cognitive enhancement, emotional stability, and adaptivity. Natural stimulants, as well as drugs, represent substance abuse groups. The latter comprise purines, methylxanthines, phenylethylamines, modafinil, nootropics, antidepressants but also benzodiazepines, β-adrenoceptor antagonists, and cannabis. Predominant pharmacodynamic target structures of these substances are the noradrenergic/dopaminergic and cholinergic receptor/transporter systems. Further targets comprise adenosine, serotonin, and glutamate receptors. Meta-analyses of randomized-controlled studies in healthy individuals show no or very limited verifiability of positive effects of pNE on attention, vigilance, learning, and memory. Only some members of the substance abuse groups, i.e., phenylethylamines and modafinil, display positive effects on attention and vigilance that are comparable to caffeinated drinks. However, the development of new antidementia drugs will increase the availability and the potential abuse of pNE. Social education, restrictive regulatory measures, and consistent medical prescription practices are essential to restrict the phenomenon of neuroenhancement with its social, medical, and ethical implications. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the highly dynamic field of pharmacological neuroenhancement and elaborates the dramatic challenges for the medical, sociocultural, and ethical fundaments of society.
KW  - Affect: drug effects
KW  - Affect: physiology
KW  - Central Nervous System Stimulants: chemical synthesis
KW  - Central Nervous System Stimulants: classification
KW  - Central Nervous System Stimulants: pharmacology
KW  - Drug Development: methods
KW  - Drug Development: trends
KW  - Ethics
KW  - Forecasting
KW  - Humans
KW  - Motivation: drug effects
KW  - Motivation: physiology
KW  - Nootropic Agents: chemical synthesis
KW  - Nootropic Agents: classification
KW  - Nootropic Agents: pharmacology
KW  - Pharmacoepidemiology: methods
KW  - Pharmacoepidemiology: trends
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:33519929
C2  - pmc:PMC7817276
DO  - DOI:10.1155/2021/8823383
UR  - https://pub.dzne.de/record/154585
ER  -