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Presentation by Logan Dobbe w/ association of Honors College, CALUE and URS at Texas Tech University. For inquiries, contact [email protected] Clinical stimulant usage is a cornerstone in treating a suite of neurological conditions. As a collateral, the use of stimulants for nonclinical purposes has increased among university students nationwide in part with the hope of improving academic performance. Adderall is such a stimulant, sometimes taken by students who claim to get “tunnel vision” which allows them to study for hours at a time, and is thought to enhance their focus during exams. Known pharmacology and past research on stimulants suggests its use may alter brain activity in the frontal lobes and emotion centers, which may actually make it harder for them to think critically, by altering information processing and controlling emotional responses. In the present study, potential neural correlates of Adderall use on critical thinking will be assessed. Two prescription stimulant users will take a specially designed reasoning exam while concomitant fMRI brain activation measures are taken. They will take the exam twice, once using the stimulant and another time without it. It is anticipated that when using the stimulant, the users will perform worse and that there will be a corresponding decrease in prefrontal cortex activity (reasoning) and in the amygdala (emotion processing). The results of this experiment may raise questions regarding the effectiveness of stimulants to enhance academic performance.
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