RESEARCH ARTICLE Life context of pharmacol n

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground The non-medical use of so-called “smart drugs ” among students with the aim of increasing mental performance has attracted considerable media attention over the past few years [1]. In particular, prescription stimulants (methylphenidate, prescription amphetamines e.g. Adderall®), other prescription drugs (modafinil, antidementives), as well as illicit drugs (e.g. illicit AMPH, cocaine) have been used in this context [2-4]. Regarding the effects of these “smart drugs”, there is very limited scientific evidence to support the pro-cognitive properties in healthy individuals. Current research data from randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) among healthy subjects show inconsistent (pro-) cognitive effects on solely simple and higher cognitive do- * Correspondence: hildt@uni-mainz.de1Department of Philosophy, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, JakobUniversity studentsAbstrac