Pharmacological Cognitive Enhancement Among International Medical Students: Assessing Study Habits as a Novel Factor

Pharmacological cognitive enhancement (PCE) among healthy individuals with off-label use of medications raises ethical and safety concerns in academia. Among the few studies that have examined this phenomenon in medical students, the desire to improve performance and cope with high levels of stress are the most common associated factors implicated. Our main objective was to update current literature by exploring a novel factor by investigating the association between PCE use and student learning approaches among a cohort of international medical students.

We conducted a cross-sectional study with an anonymous, online survey, distributed to year 1 US international medical students at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. Participants reported PCE medication use, underlying motivators, and answered items characterizing their study habits via the Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory (ALSI).

A total of 103 student responses were included, with 18 students (17.3%) reporting PCE use and a majority (61.1%) of whom were female. PCE users were less likely to adopt deep or strategic study approaches and were mainly motivated to improve academic performance.

We encourage universities to have open discussions about medication risks and forms to improve an active learning without its use, which might be beneficial in curbing the perceived need for pharmacologic enhancement. Further explorations are required to confirm if certain study habits are truly associated with PCE use.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-024-02113-w.