Pharmacological cognitive enhancement among non-ADHD individuals—A cross-sectional study in 15 countries

Psychoactive substance use aiming at increased performance at work or while studying, usually referred to as pharmacological cognitive enhancement (PCE), has been extensively researched in recent years. Tabele shows the perceived effect of the use of single substance (categories) on cognitive performance. When alcohol or benzodiazepines were used to directly or indirectly enhance cognitive performance at work or while studying, only few perceived an actual increase while half and a third, respectively, reported decreased performance following the use. According to the provided self-reports, modafinil had the best effect profile:

Perceived effect of substance use for cognitive enhancement among  participants . The substances in the graph are ordered from left to right based on the highest to lowest  perceived increase of cognitive performance following the substance use originally aimed at enhancement.

References: Pharmacological cognitive enhancement among non-ADHD individuals—Across-sectional study in 15 countries