This week the docs are concerned about trends in how stimulant medication is discussed and used without prescriptions, so we consulted the research. We discuss the actual effects of the medication, investigate whether they will improve your grades, your intelligence, or your problem-solving abilities, the implications for mood, and what all this means for people at different stages of life.

Research

Ilieva, I. P., & Farah, M. J. (2013). Enhancement stimulants: perceived motivational and cognitive advantages. Frontiers in neuroscience, 7, 198. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2013.00198

Arria, A. M., Wilcox, H. C., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., Garnier-Dykstra, L. M., & O’Grady, K. E. (2013). Perceived academic benefit is associated with nonmedical prescription stimulant use among college students. Addictive Behaviors, 38(3), 2038–2043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.12.011

Weyandt, L. L., White, T. L., Gudmundsdottir, B. G., Nitenson, A. Z., Rathkey, E. S., De Leon, K. A., & Bjorn, S. A. (2018). Neurocognitive, autonomic, and mood effects of Adderall: A pilot study of healthy college students. Pharmacy, 6(3), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6030058

The Times 2/2/26 https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/40-percent-stanford-undergraduates-claim-disabled-sw99r3k8c

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