Introduction to the Symposium on Drug Improvement of Memory

This paper introduces a symposium in which three main speakers discussed the prospect that drugs may improve cognitive functioning, including memory. Even though the participants agreed that presently available drugs can alleviate memory disorders only to a limited extent and do not increase ability of well‐functioning individuals, it is important to consider social implications of drugs that might increase learning ability and intelligence. It is also important to consider, as alternatives to drugs, behavioural approaches to improving abilities that do not share possible drawbacks of pharmacological treatments.