The use of psychostimulating substances among academics: an integrative review

• Autor(a) principal: Milhomem, Taynã Alcantara
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Silva, Daniela Crisley Casagrande da, Reis, Renato Hilton Silva
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Scire Salutis
• Texto Completo: https://sustenere.inf.br/index.php/sciresalutis/article/view/6409
• topic: Acadêmicos; Psicoestimulantes; Efeitos colaterais; Metilfenidato; Academics; Psychostimulants; Side effects; Methylphenidate

Pharmacological cognitive enhancement is the use of a drug with the aim of improving cognition. The use of psychostimulant medications without the need or medical indication has been increasing due to a search for substances that help students by giving them more willingness to study for longer, mainly as a result of the demands and burdens suffered by some of the students. However, this indiscriminate use can cause a lot of damage to the health of these users, such as dependence and even mental disorders. Data were sought based on several surveys, both review articles and original articles, both found in Pubmed Unique Identifier journals, CAPS Journals (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), SCIELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), Google Academics, being defined articles with quality from between the period 2013 to 2021. The selection was based on inclusion criteria that correspond to the research objectives for 10 articles that were analyzed and the results were distributed in tables. Through this analysis, it was possible to see that studies show that the use of psychostimulants is becoming increasingly common and that they range from the use of energy drinks to the consumption of psychotropic drugs, with caffeine being the most used substance in terms of quantity. And methylphenidate being more recurrently used, being present in all surveys. The results showed that these numbers grow a lot, as they are consumed by an increasingly precocious public, due to the high level of demands that students are submitted, mainly in the academic environment. The studies analyzed also pointed out the side effects of these substances, which range from insomnia and irritability, to serious neurological disorders and the development of addiction. The study showed that there needs to be a concern with the use of these substances without prescription due to the gradual and early increase among students and at the same time it needs policies and research that inform and raise awareness about consumption and its consequences.