Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs are frequently used by college students as a means to boost academic performance, but new research suggests that the medication may fail to improve cognition and can impair memory functioning for students without ADHD.

The study comes at a time when an increasing number of cognitively healthy students are experimenting with ADHD drugs, including Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse.

“I became interested in the misuse of the medication among college students without the disorder and have published numerous articles on this topic,” said Lisa Weyandt, a professor of psychology at the University of Rhode Island.

“We wanted to test whether the drug actually improved neurocognition as students commonly believe.”

Weyandt teamed up with Tara White, an assistant professor of research in behavioral and social sciences at Brown University, to conduct a multisite pilot study on the impact of “study drugs” used by college students without ADHD. This is the first study of its kind, according to the researchers.

The research is published in the journal Pharmacy.

The study

For the study, the researchers recruited students from both universities and eliminated individuals who had previously taken ADHD or other drugs.

After various health screenings, 13 students were chosen to participate in two five-hour sessions in White’s lab at Brown University and at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

The researchers conducted a double-blind study in which the participants received either a standard 30 mg dose of Adderall or a placebo during one session, and the other during the second session.

Neither the researchers nor participants knew who was receiving the study medication, and who was receiving the placebo.

Then, the researchers administered a series of neuropsychological tasks to determine cognitive functioning that measured short-term memory, reading comprehension and fluency.

Mood and autonomic functioning were also measured.

The results

The researchers found that while Adderall did improve attention and focus, it failed to improve performance on the neurocognitive tasks, and negatively affected working memory.

“If your brain is functioning normally in those regions, the medication is unlikely to have a positive effect on cognition and my actually impair cognition. In other words, you need to have a deficit to benefit from the medicine,” Weyandt said in a statement.

Additionally, the researchers found that the drug had a large effect on mood and bodily responses, and increased positive mood, heart rate and blood pressure.

“These are classic effects of psychostimulants,” White said in a statement.

“The fact that we see these effects on positive emotion and cardiovascular activity, in the same individuals for whom cognitive effects were small or negative in direction, is important. It indicates that the cognitive and the emotional impact of these drugs are separate. How you feel under the drug does not necessarily mean that there is an improvement in cognition; there can be a decrease, as seen here in young adults without ADHD.”

The participants also reported their perceived effects of the drug and its impact on their emotions, and said their mood was significantly elevated when taking Adderall.

Conclusion

The researchers reported feeling surprised by the results, since so many college students take ADHD drugs to improve cognition.

“We expected the drug would improve cognition given that so many students take them for this purpose” said Weyandt.

“Not only did we find that the drug did not enhance neurocognition but it impaired working memory performance!”

So if they don’t actually help, why do so many people take ADHD drugs when they don’t need to?

Weyandt has a theory.

“Largely because of their effectiveness at improving attention and executive functions in those with ADHD,” she said.

“Also, because stimulants do improve alertness, i.e., they are a central nervous system stimulant, and because ‘their friends tell them they do.’ ”

Overall, given the unexpected results of the study, Weyandt and White plan to apply for federal funding to continue their research.

“The sample was small (pilot) so we need to replicate the study using a larger sample. We intend to apply for grant funding to replicate and expand the study,” said Weyandt.