Stimulant Drugs and Learning Problems

Abstract

This review of stimulant drug research highlights the perennial problem of experimental procedures being prematurely applied despite a lack of proven treatment efficacy. This intriguing area of research is summarized as it relates to learning problems. Critical analysis indicates (a) no satisfactory support for the efficacy of stimulants in improving academic learning and performance or behavior problems, and (b) no data regarding the possibility of long-term negative side effects. Thus, widespread use of drugs for learning problems is seen as premature and, until possible side effects are clarified, perhaps dangerous. Amphetamines administered to persons with learning problems are seen as producing the common effects usually attributed to such stimulants. These include mild to moderate improvement in nonacademic performance, concomitant reductions in activity, and shortening of response latency on tasks characterized as repetitious, mechanical, regulated by an external agent, and requiring concentration and sustained performance. Evidence has not clarified the generalizability or state dependency of such effects. Complex behavior, such as reasoning, problem solving, and socioemotional functioning, do not seem affected.