Neuroscience For Kids - Smart Drugs

For example, what if the "smart drug" made the rat hungry? Wouldn't a hungry rat run faster in the maze to receive a food reward than a non-hungry rat? Maybe the rat did not get any "smarter" and did not have any improved memory. Perhaps the rat ran faster simply because it was hungrier. Therefore, it was the rat's motivation to run the maze, not its increased cognitive ability that affected the performance.

Ahh yes, the old "we thought the rat made decisions faster, but was really just looking for some cheese" argument. Never mind the pharmacological studies of brain tissues themselves, or the human trials. We've all just been making ourselves hungrier with nootropics, which causes us to get our work done quicker.

I appreciate the idea of caution, with regard to animal studies, that they are trying to convey. However, do it with facts. Don't dumb it down because you think the kids won't understand!