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Will smart pills change the future of education?

Press release issued: 23 January 2006

Smart pills that improve mental abilities and the prototyping of brain-computer interfaces are no longer just science fiction.

Smart pills that improve mental abilities and the prototyping of brain-computer interfaces are no longer just science fiction.

Scientists and educators will be meeting at Bristol University’s Graduate School of Education (GSOE) later this week [Wednesday, January 25] to discuss how neuroscientific developments might radically influence educational thinking in the future. 

The supposed effects of cognitive enhancers (smart pills) can mean improvement of memory, learning, attention, concentration, problem solving, reasoning, social skills, decision making and planning.

In most cases, cognitive enhancers have been used to treat people with neurological or mental disorders, but there is a growing number of healthy  people who use these substances in the hope of getting smarter.

The conference, Recent neuroscientific insights: new implications for education, will also be hearing pupils’ views, when a video link is made with parallel discussions between Year 7and 8 pupils (ages 11 to 13) at the Science Learning Centre South West.

Expert speakers from neuroscience, psychology and education will address delegates in the morning and, in the afternoon, delegates will be asked to tackle some of the new ethical issues for education as it becomes increasingly influenced by our growing knowledge of the brain.

Dr Paul Howard-Jones, Lecturer in Education at the GSOE, said: “Some of the issues surrounding new developments such as cognitive enhancers are very contentious. We are hoping for informed and constructive discussions that will help raise awareness of both the dangers and the benefits that may lie ahead.”

The conference, the fourth in the series, will take place at the Graduate School of Education, Berkeley Square, Bristol, on Wednesday, January 25 from 10 am to 4.30 pm. 

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