Neuroenhancement in healthy subject? A French case study | Peut-on prescrire des psychostimulants chez un étudiant sain ? Exemple d’un cas clinique
Thérapie. 2012-05-01; 67(3): 213-221
DOI: 10.2515/therapie/2012026
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1. Therapie. 2012 May-Jun;67(3):213-21. doi: 10.2515/therapie/2012026. Epub 2012 Aug
9.
[Neuroenhancement in healthy subject? A French case study].
[Article in French]
Micoulaud-Franchi JA(1), Vion-Dury J, Lancon C.
Author information:
(1)Pôle de Psychiatrie Solaris, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de
Sainte-Marguerite, Marseille, France.
Neuroenhancement is an anglo-saxon concept concerning the use of stimulating
psychotropic drugs by healthy subjects, outside any established medical
indication or festive setting, to achieve an improvement of their mental
functioning. In 2009, because of increasing requests for neuroenhancement in USA,
the American Association of Neurology has published practical recommendations
stating that “it is ethically permissible to prescribe medications for
neuroenhancement” if a number of conditions is met. We present these ethical and
psychopharmacological conditions (“the inverted U-Shape principle” in which
cognitive performance is related to catecholamine levels and “the trade-off
principle” to cognitive enhancement) through a clinical case of methylphenidate
prescription in a healthy 24 years old medical student, preparing for the “examen
classant national” (the French national ranking before postgraduate education).
We then discuss anglo-saxon ethical context in which these recommendations have
been proposed.
© 2012 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.
DOI: 10.2515/therapie/2012026
PMID: 22874487 [Indexed for MEDLINE]