Scientific American Mind Summary

The Scientific American Mind article, “Juicing the Brain” written by Jonathan D. Moreno focuses on research that will decrease mental fatigue of soldiers and other professionals with jobs that cause irregular sleeping patterns. The goal of the United States military is to “produce a better soldier” who will overcome limitations of the common person. One of those limitations is mental and physical fatigue caused by sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can increase human error in any profession but especially in the military. Sleep deprivation can offset our sleep cycles that are controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is found in the hypothalamus and is considered “the brain’s biological clock.” It is composed of 20,000 neurons and functions as the “pacemaker for circadian rhythm in mammals.”

Morena continues by discussing the drug, modafinil that’s marketed as Provigil. It was approved by the FDA in 1998 for treating narcolepsy and sleeping disorders, and is now being tested for military use. The mechanism of action of the drug is still not understood but it is suspected that as a nontraditional stimulant it “nudges the brain toward wakefulness through specific pathways” by possibly increasing serotonin levels in the brain stem. A double-blind study was performed using modafinil and a placebo. Results from the study indicated that sleep-deprived subjects that took modafinil did better on cognitive tests compared to those on the placebo. The military is also testing another class of drugs called ampakines which are used for dementia and schizophrenia, and have showed promise in their performance of stimulating someone with sleep deprivation.

The article also focused whether or not electrical stimulation would help people “exceed their normal intellectual capabilities.” The article mentioned two techniques used for electrical stimulation: direct-current (DC) depolarization and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). DC polarization involved attaching an electrode to the subject’s scalp, which resulted in better verbal skills due to the increased rate of neuronal firing and activating “cells involved in word generation.” While TMS involves a magnetic coil placed above the head of a subject and magnetic impulses pass through their cortex. The goal of these two techniques is to cure patients with dementia or stroke symptoms. However, since they can enhance cognitive skills the military is speculating whether electrical stimulation can be a useful tool for sleep deprived soldiers. It was proposed that impulses could be generated within the soldiers’ helmets to keep them alert. Finally, the article mentions the elimination of the fear gene. The fear gene called stathmin is “associated with innate anger and learned fear.” And Moreno briefly talked about the scientific and ethical questions involved with this enhancement.

I found this article interesting since as a college student I am extremely sleep deprived averaging four to five hours of sleep a night. When I first read this article I thought that the use of this prescribed stimulant was a positive medical advancement, especially for soldiers during long and hazardous days of combat. However, this drug enhancement therapy could possibly lead to dependency and addiction. So, now that I think about it using a prescribed stimulant to stay awake seems completely dangerous, and especially in the case of a soldier who would need to take it constantly. I would also be leery beacause no side effects have been identified yet and long term use complications haven't been found either. I think it would definitely alter one’s sleep cycles and could lead to more eventual health problems. The electrical stimulation techniques seem to be a safer alternative compared to the prescription drugs. However, I have come to the conclusion that either treatment could have positive results but equal or greater consequences could arise since the brain's biological clock will be offset.