ADHD Drugs Aren't Doing What You Think, Scientists Warn 'Smart Pill' UsersAbout an hour before any organic chemistry final, there's usually a student desperate enough to pop some Adderall , hoping that the "smart pill" they bought on the college black market might help them finally understand what they're doing. As they sit there, waiting for the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder medication to take effect, that student probably thinks they're about to ride a high to test victory. But research published Thursday in Pharmacy suggests that line of thinking is a bit off.The study authors Lisa Weyandt, Ph.D. , a professor of psychology at the University of Rhode Island, and Tara White, Ph.D. , an assistant professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University, started out investigating the effects of ADHD medications in students that actually have a diagnosable attention deficit disorder. They showed that in these students, there is decreased activity in the areas of the brain controlling "executive functions," which can make it hard for them to stay organized or focus.But because both authors work with college students, they soon became more interested in the misuse of Adderall. In students whose brains aren't affected by ADHD, does Adderall act as a supercharger? Does it make those areas fly into overdrive and unlock otherwise untapped intellectual ability, as all pill-popping students hope?The students completed six cognitive tests and were assessed for the physiological effects of the drug, like blood pressure and heart rate. These metrics helped them determine whether the aspects of Adderall that get you high are related to the ones that, theoretically, make you smart. "Young people are using this drug as a performance-enhancing agent. So we actually tested their hypothesis," White tells Inverse. "It's easy to assume that because you feel a drug effect, but that doesn't actually tell you what's happening with cognition."The six tests evaluated different aspects of cognition, like working memory, reading ability and reaction time."Adderall improved attention compared to the placebo, but that's because it's a central nervous system stimulant," Weyandt explains, "If you drink caffeine, doesn't that make it easier for you to focus? But it's not going to help you write extreme prose," she says.Adderall, they posit, acts the same way. For people diagnosed with ADHD, it can help pull things into focus, but for everyone else, it's not doing any favors, short of a quick shot of energy to the central nervous system. And let's be real -