Stimulants Do stimulants increase cognition?

I have heard that stimulants make people "smarter" but it is usually because it makes them stay up longer at night, and thus making them be able to study more material (for school, for example.) If this is the case, it does not seem to actually increase cognition, since if the individual did not study, then their amount of knowledge would be the same. Abstractly, the effect just seems to be a wakefulness promoter, rather than a cognitive enhancer. These are just my thoughts, I'm basing on observation and speculation.

So would it true, that stimulants, such as Propylhexedrine, can increase cognition and intelligence by themselves? Or not.

No, absolutely not. If taken by themselves, by that I am guessing that you mean without studying the material, they will not make you smarter. They do increase brain activity allowing the taker to read material faster, think quicker, write at increased speeds, etc. They also allow the taker to stay up longer, giving them more time essentially to focus on the task at hand. They also tend to have very increased focus on one thing. They do not get distracted and are able to give their undivided attention to whatever task they need to complete. It really is a placebo effect more than anything. Another thing it does to aid in studying is its ability to release dopamine and thus making whateveer thing you had to do that would normally suck ass and make it enjoyable. People are not smarter, but they sure as hell think they are. Long story short, it definetly aids in the gaining of knowledge if taken at the right dosage or when you need to get something done quickly. However, with that said it cannot solely make you smarter, in fact it will do the opposite if taken in large quantities or over long periods of time. You still have to put in the work to allow your mind to comprehend the material. You cannot learn what you have never seen.

No. They could (in a state of intoxication) cause a user to believe that's what is happening to them, but in fact it's really the increased dopamine activity in the brain. They can't make anyone smarter, or better at completing a task. They might be giving some people an edge mentally that they normally don't have but it's all a because of a physical state made by the drug.

I disagree with the above two responses. They increase alertness and mental energy and this can lead to new insights, new ways of thinking and new neural pathways being formed in the brain. Knowledge and intelligence are not the same things. I am not saying stimulants will make you as creative as cannabis or anything just that I believe they can lead to a greater clarity of mind and wakefulness both of which are important when it comes to thinking intelligently.

Of course they can also lead to delusional thinking and false confidence, so by no means am I saying the only effect is an inherent or net increase in intelligence.

I've taken a real Mensa test under influence of Ritalin, under under influence of oxycodone and while sober. With ritalin it was -3 when compared to sober test results and with oxycodone it was +2 when compared to sober.

In my opinion stimulants don't increase cognition at anyway but instead give you confidence for completing the task and make you able to focus on the task without thinking about the deadline which leads to a faster completion but with possible false statements due increased confidency in own knowledge.

I agree with everyone above here actually. OP seemed to be asking about "book smart" and in which case as Rambo and LFDM say, no except in the indirect way that appropriate use can increase focus, speed, etc. when applied and indeed misuse...well you may end up reading the same page looking for the "real underlying meaning" ha. I also agree with burnout on the point that it encourages new insight though and it most def alters some pathways neurologically. This get specific for the OP I would say with cognition and book-smart intelligence it is possible when used right, applied, so yes indirectly. If someone with identical body chemistry misused, didn't apply it then no in and of itself, though they may be struck with random insight varying in nature from plausible to outright crazy talk whilst not studying. I used to write long papers or do artwork sometimes on it and in rereading/revisualizing the material sober it was at both ends of the spectrum. I should add that heavy long term use left me feeling less "smart"; with more difficulty concentrating, comprehending, and remembering things. However, my experience altered my spiritual perceptions and my diverse experiences made me more openminded as an individual, which to me is wisdom not intelligence. For example I'm a lot wiser at detecting deception than before (but what addict doesn't gain that right?). Maybe I should have studied up on it too. Hmm. Bam! Insight in sobriety.

This is what happens when you overdo it:
http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...en-neurotransmitters-generate-our-entire-view

^bwahaha! Precisely. Script happens. Thank you for the Mensa test study results MrRoot! Fascinating!

As said above, no they don't. You tend to get stuck on one thought and it spirals out of control into this massive clusterfuck of drivel that you believe to be profound and inspired, while others consider you deranged and retarded.

Used in tiny therapeutic doses you may see some minor improvements, but likely purely due to a greater sense of motivation/disinhibition. Creativity tends to decline in my opinion due to the obsessive focus on a few things.

Stimulants like amphetamines do increase activity, productivity... so as for the title question: there is some temporarily increase in cognition, yes. But it is one-sided and can go at the cost of thinking more narrowly/procedurally.

When intelligence is considered sometimes it is broken up into different types of intelligence, surely there are different modi and depending on the task at hand one of them may be optimal but not all others. I think similarly you have to be careful about making blanket statements that are too general like 'it makes you smarter'.

There are plenty of things - as have already been mentioned - to consider, short-term vs. long-term and the concessions you make when you optimalize certain mental functionality. You need a different 'edge' being creative than when being meticulously analytical. Sure there are overlaps etc, but it's complex. Increasing cognition is what nootropics are supposed to do, stimulants are merely part of the story.

Let me just say before getting on stimulant medication for my ADHD, my mind constantly wandered all day long, making it really hard for me to focus on things going on around me. Also I would constantly talk over people and interrupt their conversations, and could not read a damn thing if I wasn't interested in it without forgetting what I just read... my mind just wasn't clear at all and my way of doing things, especially at my job, would always be ass backwards. Now when I started taking Adderall IR tabs, I began notice a slight change with all of that at 10mg a day and it only got better when I was put on 20mg per day. I began to have more of clear mind, never talked out of turn or did things ass backwards like before. It didn't make me smarter as a whole, but it definitely helped with my motivation, focus, and being more organized with my work or just in general. Truly it gave me what I needed, and was lacking before, to be able to actually learn the things I needed to learn in order to be smarter with whatever it was I was focusing on. And still am learning things, that will make me more of a knowledgeable person than I previously was before taking stimulant ADD/ADHD meds. In a nutshell they have definitely helped me a lot with things my ADHD hindered me from doing correctly, but its not like they made my IQ go up twice as much though.

Solipsis said:

Stimulants like amphetamines do increase activity, productivity... so as for the title question: there is some temporarily increase in cognition, yes. But it is one-sided and can go at the cost of thinking more narrowly/procedurally.

When intelligence is considered sometimes it is broken up into different types of intelligence, surely there are different modi and depending on the task at hand one of them may be optimal but not all others. I think similarly you have to be careful about making blanket statements that are too general like 'it makes you smarter'.

There are plenty of things - as have already been mentioned - to consider, short-term vs. long-term and the concessions you make when you optimalize certain mental functionality. You need a different 'edge' being creative than when being meticulously analytical. Sure there are overlaps etc, but it's complex. Increasing cognition is what nootropics are supposed to do, stimulants are merely part of the story.

Click to expand...

Are stimulants nootropics? By increasing cognition, I meant that it makes it easier to understand and notice things.

For example, without the drug, you may look at a complicated equation in a math book and think "what am I looking at?" And with the drug, you'd look at the same complicated equation and say "Oh, wow, I understand how that works, it makes total sense."

So would that be regarded as wisdom or cognition, I'm not sure? From reading everything about stimulants, it seems like it just motivates and makes people more "interested" in doing one task, and not making it easier to understand things.

Eisbaer said:

For example, without the drug, you may look at a complicated equation in a math book and think "what am I looking at?" And with the drug, you'd look at the same complicated equation and say "Oh, wow, I understand how that works, it makes total sense."

So would that be regarded as wisdom or cognition, I'm not sure? From reading everything about stimulants, it seems like it just motivates and makes people more "interested" in doing one task, and not making it easier to understand things.

Click to expand...

Okay, I see what you're saying now. I was in that same boat for a while -- wanting to make myself more mentally sharp by using stims and whatnot.

In my own experience with amphetamines, they DO increase motivation, attention, and processing/writing speed; however they DON'T increase learning capacity or comprehension. In fact, in many cases your mind is running so quickly that you can't fully fathom what you're looking at anyway. So all in all, it won't turn you into the guy from Limitless, but it very well just make it far, far easier to write out a 50 page essay on whatever, providing you already know what to write. Then again, after taking it you'll probably just end up goofing off on /r/stims and writing a load of bollocks for the sake of it, if you're anything like me.

I really wish their was some simple solution to become some sort of genius (IF ONLY), but sadly, I don't think stims is the answer. The only thing that helped me rid myself of my brain fog and mental dysfunction was going Paleo, and fixing my leaky gut. Since doing that -- slowly but surely -- I've began to fix myself and my mentality has improved.

Can't really say much else. I've tried Modafinil before, but it just made me hyperfocus on everything and actually made it harder to learn thing than before. I wish I could suggest an ultimate cognition-enchancer for you, but sadly, that just doesn't exist...

The best shot you have is to take a lower dose, and see how that affects you. Honestly though, you'll likely just end up dosing even more and going on some deranged fapping/music/writing binge, I mean, good luck keeping on track with whatever you were doing beforehand!

Solipsis said:

Stimulants like amphetamines do increase activity, productivity... so as for the title question: there is some temporarily increase in cognition, yes. But it is one-sided and can go at the cost of thinking more narrowly/procedurally.

When intelligence is considered sometimes it is broken up into different types of intelligence, surely there are different modi and depending on the task at hand one of them may be optimal but not all others. I think similarly you have to be careful about making blanket statements that are too general like 'it makes you smarter'.

There are plenty of things - as have already been mentioned - to consider, short-term vs. long-term and the concessions you make when you optimalize certain mental functionality. You need a different 'edge' being creative than when being meticulously analytical. Sure there are overlaps etc, but it's complex. Increasing cognition is what nootropics are supposed to do, stimulants are merely part of the story.

Click to expand...

This is an excellent post.

Yes. Speed gives you confidence. If you are confident, you will do better at the task.

I skipped over most of the posts in this thread, so I apologize if its been said already.. But they increase cognitive abilities while under the influence, but they reduce cognitive abilities long term.

Adderal was the first drug I ever did. I was fourteen at the time and took sixty milligrams right before getting on the school bus. Was flying by the time we got there. Had no idea what to expect going in. The buddy I grabbed them from told me, "they'll make you super smart." It sure felt like they did. That day I got my first girlfriend, became a model student, did all my homework including extra credit assignments, and aced all of my tests. So yeah, it definitely improved my cognition that day. The girlfriend didn't stick though upon realizing I was not the smooth talker I portrayed myself to be on that day lol

MrRoot said:

This is what happens when you overdo it:
http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads...en-neurotransmitters-generate-our-entire-view

Click to expand...

That's what happens when the euphoria is gone, so you waste time.