Pharmacological Human Enhancement: An Overview of the Looming Bioethical and Regulatory Challenges

Frontiers in Psychiatry
Giovanna Ricci

Abstract

Cognitive enhancement, a rather broad-ranging principle, can be achieved in various ways: healthy eating and consistent physical exercise can lead to long-term improvements in many cognitive domains; commonplace stimulants such as caffeine, on the other hand, temporarily raise levels of alertness, attentiveness, and concentration; sedative substances are also used as an indirect form of enhancement to relax before an exam or an important meeting. Such approaches raise no ethical issue. Nonetheless, clinical research has led to the off-label use of drugs called nootropics or "smart drugs", which can, under certain conditions, elicit some degree of cognition-improving effects: methylphenidate and modafinil can enhance working memory and concentration in healthy individuals, although the significance and effectiveness of such applications are dubious. Such "cognitive enhancement" methods, however, do raise multiple ethical issues, and their contentious nature has caused bioethical authorities to lay out opinions and recommendations meant to regulate their use. Most notably, the Italian Committee on Bioethics has extensively dealt with the spread of nootropics, which resulted in the Italian Code of Medical Ethics including "cogniti...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 27, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Maria Rosaria VarìGiovanna Ricci
Aug 6, 2021·Science and Engineering Ethics·A SchmiedJ M Dubinsky

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