Earlier in the year I wrote an article where I detailed a hypothetical situation of two candidates vying for a marketing position. One candidate decided to take a brain booster drug to help him interview better, while the other candidate considered making the same choice–just to stay competitive.

And while reader responses varied to this particular dilemma, a new commentary in the December 2008 issue of Nature suggests brain boosters such as Ritalin, Adderall, or Provigil are a perfectly acceptable method of improving mental performance.

The writers of the article, which include a group of psychologists, and cognitive neuroscientists say, “Cognitive enhancement, unlike enhancement for sport competitions could lead to substantive improvements in the world.”

In a testimonial for the use of brain boosters taken from the article, Henry Greely of Stanford Law School in California, and Barbara Sahakian, a psychiatry professor from the University of Cambridge in Britain said, “We should welcome new methods of improving our brain function.”

Do we really need cognitive enhancements to improve brain functions?
The human brain is an amazing organ, loaded with billions of neurons that process an amazing amount of information–according to one source, “20 million billion calculations per second.” And while our brains arguably have a fixed capacity, it seems that in a quest “to get ahead” there are many who feel the need to take brain drugs to push their brains to perform even better.

An article in Technology Review makes mention of another Nature survey of 1,400 people across 60 countries. A stunning twenty percent of respondents mentioned that they had taken brain boosting drugs to increase mental performance!

And according to the article, nearly 7% of students in U.S. universities have used prescription stimulants, and on some campuses, as many as a quarter of students have used the drugs for non-therapeutic purposes. These are students who will eventually be coming into the workplace. If they are taking cognitive enhancements to get ahead now, are we fooling ourselves that they will stop once they enter the workforce?

Let’s be honest. These are challenging economic times. Those who are employed are feeling the pressure to perform even stronger, and those who are unemployed may be competing with candidates who are doing all they can to land an open position.

Business executives of all stripes will be confronted with tough choices–and one of those choices could be whether to use cognitive enhancing drugs to maintain or increase performance.
The pressure is real. How will you respond?

Questions for DailyFix readers:

* Should healthy adults have access to cognitive enhancing drugs?
* The scientists in the Nature article argue that cognitive enhancing drugs are just a tool to improve performance, much like using the internet, maintaining good health habits, or getting a better education. Do you agree?
* Do you think there will be more pressure to take cognitive enhancements during these challenging economic conditions?
* Should employers have a policy regarding employee use of “brain boosters”? Is this a “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation, or should companies outright ban such stimulants in the workplace?

As the clock moved closer to 8am, Devon Anderson and Scott Billups looked at each other with anticipation.
The two marketing executives were candidates for the Vice President, Marketing Alliances role, and they both knew that only one of them would walk away with the position.

Sheila Watkins, administrative assistant to the CEO, opened the door and glanced at both candidates. “Mr. Jackson is running about fifteen minutes late, he’ll be with you shortly. Mr. Billups, you’ll be up first.”
If Scott Billups was nervous, he didn’t show it. In a polished dark pinstripe suit and hair that appeared slicked back with motor oil, he leaned back in his chair and calmly opened his portfolio.

Devon Anderson, however, was having a rough morning.

Last night, he and Scott stayed out with a group of senior executives from NewCo, dining and drinking (mostly drinking) until 2a.m. Now, it was time for interviews with the CEO and both men were afforded limited sleep.

Sleep or not, Devon thought, it’s time to shine.

Over the course of a three day interview process, Scott and Devon had started a friendship. Guarded and perhaps a bit adversarial at first, both men had been put through grueling interviews on the first day, and on the second, more interviews and then dinner.

And while Devon knew Scott was “the competition”, he couldn’t help commiserating with him over the difficult interview process.

Knowing the clock on the wall and the watch on his arm were synchronized perfectly, Devon fidgeted with his Rolex nonetheless. Looking amused, Scott broke the silence. “Rough night last night?”

“Well I don’t think either of us got much sleep,” Devon chuckled. “Nothing like an 8am interview on four hours of sleep! You seem downright chipper though–”

“Wide awake,” Scott replied. “You need more Starbucks!”

Devon thought to himself that he probably looked a bit more haggard than Scott did, but sleep or no sleep, the show must go on.

Just then, Sheila Watkins poked her head through the door. “Mr. Billups, Mr. Jackson is ready for you.”
Scott bounded from his chair and in a flash, was through the door.

The clock ticked slowly for the next hour. Devon scenario-planned the types of questions he might be asked. He reviewed his resume, and made careful note to call out key strengths in his answers. He couldn’t however, seem to shake his lack of sleep. It seemed his brain just wasn’t working correctly.

Just then, the door opened and Scott emerged.

“How’d ya do?” Devon asked.

Scott smiled with a large toothy grin, “I nailed it of course.” He looked around the room, glanced at the clock and sat down next to Devon.

Devon’s interview was next. “I don’t know how you did it,” Devon said. “I just can’t seem to wake up this morning.”

Scott reached into his pocket. “I usually don’t do this kind of thing, since you are the competition and all, but I took a few pills this morning. Really helped me wake up.” Devon looked into Scott’s hand. Scott continued, “These things are all legal, just some pills. You ever heard of brain boosters? It’s all legit.”

Devon shaked his head, “Like the kind of stuff you can get at GNC?”

“Well sort of,” Scott said. “There’s only one that’s prescription–it’s a brain booster. The rest are ginkgo biloba, omega-3’s, some other herbs. Nothing to be afraid of. Plus, we already took our drug test on Monday. Not like they’re uppers or anything.”

Devon looked around the room just to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “Look,” Scott said. “You probably have a few minutes before your interview. Pop these and trust me, you’ll nail that interview. Everyone’s taking them these days, poker players, students–they’ll give you that edge you need.”

Devon took the pills in his hand. Any minute now, Ms. Watkins would walk through that door and call his name.

What if I lose this job to Scott, just because he took these pills and I did not, he thought. I’m the better candidate anyway.

He stared at the pills. They seemed to stare back at him. He had to make a decision.
************************************************************************************************
–Should Devon take the pills?
–Supposing Devon loses the position to Scott (and doesn’t take the pills) should he notify NewCo of their conversation?
–What’s your advice to Devon? To NewCo?