Professor Pineda
Cogs 174
3/7/11
Alice Ahn
Rebecca Schneider
Jacqueline Tran
Arfa Ahmed

QUICK FIX GENERATION: MISUSED
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
 Introduction
 Quick Fix Generation
 Prescription Drug Misuse
 Study drug: Adderall
 Adderall
 What does it do?
 Short Term Effects
 Long Term Effects
 Conclusion: Is misuse worth the risk?

CULTURAL MODEL: QUICK FIX GENERATION
 Prioritize Immediate Results
 Advertising companies target consumers with messages of ultimate convenience
 Make the degree of convenience seem almost magical, fantastical
 Disregard Long Term Effects

 “Never seen a prescription drug that has an appeal to college-age students more than Adderall and Ritalin”
 2010 Study at University of Kentucky:
“casual” misuse of Adderall among students:
 Juniors and Seniors: 50-60%
 Juniors/Seniors in Frat/Sorority: 80%

THE STUDENTS WHO MISUSE ADDERALL
 Students looking for a competitive edge; not informed of side effects
 “Don’t make students any smarter, but those who abuse them become psychologically dependent”
 Positive Reinforcement
 become a way of life for students who misuse these drugs

 From 1995-2006
 Increase in prescriptions: 100.3 %
 Increase in
Consumption: 268.9%
• Easy Access
 Fellow Students –
Campus Black Market
 Online
 Craigslist
 Prescription
 Fake symptoms


 Increases attention
 Decrease impulsivity
 Decrease hyperactivity




 Schedule 2 controlled substance
 Adderall is available in IR and XR and is prescribed in a variety of doses
 Pill enters the bloodstream where the active ingredients stimulate the brain’s production of norepinephrine and dopamine

 Dieters
 College students for its effects on alertness, concentration, libido and hunger
 People who want to stay up to party

 Headache
 Stomach ache
 Trouble sleeping
 Weight loss
 Dry mouth
 Decreased appetite
 Nervousness
 Nausea
 diarrhea
 Dizziness
 *do not drive or operate machinery while taking Adderall as it could impair your coordination/ judgment

 Heart related problems which can result in sudden death
 Stroke
 Increase heart pressure/ heart rate
 Grinding of teeth
 Changes in sexual ability or desire
 Increased Aggression
 Increased:
 Depression
 Hostility
 Abnormal thoughts
 Emergence of Pre-existing Psychotic Symptoms
 Ex: Inducing Bi-polar illness
 Ex: Inducing Pre-Existing Psychosis

SIDE EFFECTS THAT REQUIRE IMMEDIATE
MEDICAL ATTENTION
 Shortness of breath
 Chest pain
 Fainting episode
 Severe headaches
 Pounding, fast or otherwise irregular heartbeat
 Jaw pain
 Pain on the left arm
 Seizures
 Swelling of the ankles or feet
 Extreme fatigue
 Blurred vision
 Weakness on one side of the body
 Slurred speech
 confusion
 Severe allergic reactions

WHAT NOT TO COMBINE ADDERALL WITH
 High blood pressure
 Any form of heart disease – can lead to sudden death
 Worsening of insomnia
 A history of addiction to drugs or alcohol – can lead to addiction
 Tourette syndrome – can lead to sudden death
 Medications:
 MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors)- have serious life-threatening effect
 Antidepressant medications
 Blood pressure medications
 Blood thinners
 Cold/ allergy medication that contain decongestants
 Seizure medications
 Stomach acid medications
 Combining Adderall with other medication can alter, increase, or decrease the effect of the medication

 Increased
 Focus, attention, motivation
 Duration of concentration
 Elevated mood
 Enlarge parts of the brain associated with focus, motivation, and attention
 Weight loss

 Financially draining
 Increased aggression
 Poor study habits
 Does not fix the real problem!
 Weight loss

 Anorexia
 Stroke
 Heart attack
 Sudden death
 Hair loss (although rare)
 Increased blood pressure

 Blocks long term synaptic depression in ventral Tegmental area
 Amphetamine psychosis
 Hallucinations, delusions, paranoia
 Akathisia
 Motor restlessness

 It IS a Schedule II controlled substance
 Tolerance - easy to go on higher dose
 Keep up the competitive edge

 Dermatoses
 Insomnia
 Hyperactivity
 High Body Temperature
 Personality Changes
 Even PSYCHOSIS
 Clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia

• After stopping high doses
• extreme fatigue
• mental depression
• Anhedonia
• Anxiety
• Cravings
• Nightmares

THE OBSERVER (ENGLAND), 2009
“Male undergraduates at highly competitive schools are the most frequent student users of neuroenhancers, more likely to belong to a fraternity or a sorority, and to have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 - ie satisfactory - or lower”
“In other words, decent students at schools where to be a great student you have to give up a lot more partying than they're willing to give up.”
"pretty clear trend across the studies that say neuroenhancers will be less helpful for people who score above average"

NEWSWEEK ARTICLE - JANUARY 17, 2011
• “ same dopamine-boosting benefits by [belief] that you'll do well”
• “psychological factors such as motivation and reward help with memory, but not higher-order processes such as abstract thought.”
• “positive mood--even the kind that comes from watching
"Sneezing Panda" on YouTube--can enhance creative problem-solving, finds a new paper in Psychological Science. reducing stress and the resulting cortisol, which attacks the myelin sheath that coats neurons and thus impairs signal transmission, allows underlying abilities to reach their full potential.
• 1) exercise 2) meditation 3) complex and intricate video games provide brain with similar effects without drugs

Does it work?
• As a last minute study drug:
• Yes , may improve your score if you normally score below average
• Yes , for memorization
• No , for abstract or complex thinking
• Fix the real problem?
• Time management, prioritization issues, developing discipline?
• No

Is it worth the risk?

MOST COMMON JUSTIFICATION FOR
ADDERALL ABUSE
 “The stuff comes right from a doctor. So
I don’t really stress over knowing a lot about it. It’s obviously not going to hurt you . . . They couldn’t give it to 50 millions kids if it did .”
 “the problem is not only that they do not know, but that they are content with not knowing ”

 Sudden death
 Serious cardiovascular adverse events
 Worsening mental illness
 Possible decreased growth
 Increased tics
 Headaches
 Nightmares
 Mood changes

FDA WARNINGS ON ADDERALL USE
CONTINUED…
 Danger is exponentially increased if users have
 Undiagnosed heart defects
 High blood pressure
 Heart or blood vessel disease
 Overactive thyroid
 Majority of sudden deaths linked with pre existing heart problems

Is it worth the risk?
• Besides FDA’s warnings…
• Scarce conclusive research has been performed on the long term effects of Adderall use on brain structure
• No research has been conducted on the long term effects of Adderall use on the non ADHD brain
• Adderall specifically acts on brain regions thought to be impaired in ADHD patients
• Pre-Frontal Cortex: executive control
• Anterior Cingulate Cortex: rational cognitive functioning

 If you care about your health, do the research; be a nerd!

REFERENCES
 http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?
docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T11365717566&format=GNBFI&sort=REL
EVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T11365717570&cisb=22
_T11365717569&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=314237&docNo=
18
 http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?
docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T11365717566&format=GNBFI&sort=REL
EVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T11365717570&cisb=22
_T11365717569&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=6742&docNo=5
 http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
 http://www.bing.com/health/article/goldstandard -
1500082520/Amphetamine- Aspartate- Amphetamine-Sulfate-
Dextroamphetamine-Saccharate-Dextroamphetamine-Sulfate-Oraltablet?q=adderall
 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100254163
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2681078/

REFERENCES
 http://www.drugs.com/sfx/adderall-side-effects.html
 http://adderall.net/
 http://www.mahalo.com/adderall/
 http://www.ritalinsideeffects.net/
 http://www.mahalo.com/adderall-side-effects/
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSj_FdOQACw&feature=pla yer_embedded
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ihO1KFxkQ
 http://www.drugs.com/pro/adderall.html
 http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/inde x.cfm
 http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-07-
07/news/27069332_1_craigslist-adderall-drug-wholesalers

REFERENCES
 Easton, N. (2007). "Dif ferential ef fects of the D - and L- isomers of amphetamine on pharmacological MRI BOLD contrast in the rat"
Psychopharmacology.
11-29.
 DeSantis, A . (2010). Adderall is Definitely Not a Drug": Justification for the Illegal Use of ADHD Stimulants. Substance Use & Misuse, 45:31 -46.
 Connecticut, C. (1997). Stimulants. The brain's response to drugs.
Connecticut Clearinghouse.
 "Amphetamine Blocks Long -Term Synaptic Depression in the Ventral
Tegmental Area ." The Journal of Neuroscience . N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar.
2011 . < http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi
 "Dextroamphetamine and Amphetamine." Adderall Ef fects . N.p., n.d. Web.
1 Mar. 2011 . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000166 .
 "What are the Side Ef fects Adderall Is Known For?." ADHD Remedies to
Eliminate Symptoms of ADHD . N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011 .
< http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/adderall_side_ef fects .