A Study on the Effect of Methylphenidate on Creativity of Healthy Adults

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2014-08-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Creative cognition plays an important role in art, invention and innovation, as well as in everyday life and thus has a significant effect on society as a whole. Research with healthy, normal participants and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder indicates a possible inverse relationship between attentional function and creativity. This evidence raises the possibility that Methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin) could decrease creativity in people using it for cognitive enhancement. However, this question has not been addressed by previous studies. Hence, the present study aims to examine the effect of MPH on creativity in healthy young adults.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Shalvata Mental Health Center
• Treatments: Methylphenidate

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants, aged 21-40 years

Exclusion Criteria:

1. People diagnosed with a psychiatric clinical disorder and /or taking psychotropic drugs (whether prescription drugs, herbal extracts or illegal drugs), which may impair their performance in tasks that are used in the study).

2. People for whom there is a contra-indication for consuming Ritalin:

People who are or were diagnosed with cardiac medical condition, hypertension, liver damage, glaucoma or neurologic disorders (e.g. epilepsy, CVA, parkinson's, Aneurism, brain SOL, MS).

3. Pregnant or nursing women; female participants will be required to report whether they are pregnant, and in case they are, they will not participate.

4. Reported use of drugs at the previous 30 days.