Crystal meth enhances memory in snails as well as in humans.
Crystal meth (methamphetamine) is a highly addictive drug that seduces victims by increasing self-esteem and sexual pleasure, and inducing euphoria. But once hooked, addicts find the habit hard to break.
Ken Lukowiak and Barbara Sorg investigated whether a dose of meth could improve snails' memories in the way it does human memories.
A dose of meth prior to training improved the snails' memories, allowing them to recall a lesson that they would normally have already forgotten.
Memories formed under the influence of meth seem to be harder to forget, possibly because the drug disrupts the mechanisms for forgetting, and could help us to understand how amphetamines enhance memory in humans.
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