Efficacy, safety, and ethics of cosmetic neurology far from settled.
In this issue, Larriviere and colleagues discuss the emerging use of drugs to enhance cognitive function. Several cautions they raise warrant amplification. People have tried to pharmacologically improve cognitive function for millennia, but Larriviere and colleagues postulate that new, more effective drugs will lead to the emergence of  "cosmetic neurology." The ethics of using drugs to improve performance, as opposed to treating disease or restoring normal function, are far from settled.
Flower
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Addiction & Pharmacology Research Laboratory, California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, St Luke's Hospital, San Francisco, California, USA.
Li
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L
Chen
C-Y A
CY
Baggott
M J
MJ
Galloway
G P
GP
Mendelson
J
J
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003071:Cognition; D026690:Ethics, Clinical; D006801:Humans; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D018697:Nootropic Agents