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Cognitive enhancement.

Martha J Farah1, M Elizabeth Smith1, Irena Ilieva1

  • 1Center for Neuroscience & Society, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores pharmaceutical agents and brain stimulation for cognitive enhancement in healthy individuals. It examines methods, mechanisms, effectiveness, and identifies knowledge gaps for future research.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive neuroscience
  • Neuropharmacology
  • Neurotechnology

Background:

  • Cognitive enhancement aims to improve cognitive abilities in healthy individuals.
  • Methods include pharmaceutical agents and brain stimulation techniques.
  • Understanding these methods is crucial for advancing cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review common methods of pharmacologic and electronic cognitive enhancement.
  • To examine the proposed mechanisms of action for these enhancement techniques.
  • To assess the effectiveness and prevalence of cognitive enhancement strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of pharmaceutical agents for cognitive enhancement.
  • Analysis of brain stimulation techniques (e.g., tDCS, TMS) for cognitive enhancement.
  • Synthesis of existing research on cognitive enhancement effectiveness and prevalence.

Main Results:

  • Common methods involve stimulant medications and non-invasive brain stimulation.
  • Mechanisms include modulating neurotransmitter systems and neural network activity.
  • Effectiveness and prevalence data reveal significant knowledge gaps and variability.

Conclusions:

  • Current understanding of cognitive enhancement methods is incomplete.
  • Further research is needed to clarify the size, reliability, and nature of enhancing effects.
  • Recommendations are provided for future research directions in cognitive enhancement.