brain disorders movie reviews

Limitless

2/5/2013

A writer, down on his luck, is introduced to a wonder drug that increases his brain power and helps him turn his life around.

Eddie Morra’s life is falling apart – he can’t finish his book and his girlfriend has left him. A chance encounter with his ex-brother-in-law introduces him to a new drug that will change Eddie’s life. The pill enhances his brain functioning, allowing Eddie to easily access remote memories, make quick connections between observations, and become generally more cognizant. He is able to finish his book in mere days before turning his sights on the stock market. Soon, his quick rise to success and wealth gets the attention of some dangerous individuals. Eddy must deal with the life threatening side effects of the drug while evading those that would steal his secret and see him dead.

Neuropsychological Review
Neuroenhancement: Do “Smart Pills” have Limits?
Mary V. Spiers

Previously published in Spiers, M.V. (2011) Neuroenhancement: Do "Smart Pills" Have Limits?”[Review of the Film Limitless, 2011] PsycCRITIQUES, 56(31). Doi:10.1037/a0024650.
Copyright APA. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.

What if there was a “smart pill” that could make you excel at everything? Limitless (2011) examines the power of the mind and how one struggling writer, Eddie Morra, played by Bradley Cooper, deals with his newfound super-mental powers. The film begins by re-asserting the popular myth that we use only a small portion of our brain’s potential (Beyerstein, 1999) and
proceeds to show both the upside and downside of neuroenhancement...

The inciting incident of the movie occurs when Eddie, a down and out writer, first takes the smart pill, NZT, given to him by his shady former brother-in-law. Eddie is now able to effortlessly write his novel. He composes and writes like a speed demon, finishing his manuscript in days. Any trace of writer’s block is gone and, according to his editor, he produces a masterpiece. Eddie is hooked. He quickly discovers that his abilities extend beyond just enhancing his previously learned skills. He has access to every incidental memory in his life. He feels he can “tap into” his unconscious.   This is more than just the rote retrieval of photographic memory. Like a dream come true, he uses his memory of obscure references to seduce his despised landlord’s girlfriend, a law student, who is impressed by the analysis he offers on her paper. Whereas Eddie’s previous life had become the paragon of sloth, procrastination, timidity and disorganization, NZT now gives him a boost in executive functioning; he becomes a self-starter, gets himself and his apartment spiffed up and organized and is undaunted in his response to any new situation. Eddie Morra is now competent self-assured and on-target. Not only are his intellectual abilities enhanced but he is also more socially and emotionally aware. He can read others’ emotions, apparent needs and intentions. Soon Eddie yearns to reach beyond his life in the publishing world. He is taken in by the allure of big money to be made as a day trader. Even better than having the primed and plastic brain of a child, he learns complex equations and digests trends in minutes. If he needs to learn Mandarin Chinese, he can do that too. He is soon the hottest trader on Wall Street.

Limitless is timely in that it echoes the current interest in neuroenhancement. It has been estimated that more that 100 drugs may be under consideration as cognitive enhancers (Soyka, 2009). For example cholinesterase inhibitors were originally developed to delay memory decline in dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, and prescription stimulants are routinely used to improve attention and focus in disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They are now being used “off label” and are increasingly sought by healthy people of all ages with no diagnosed medical condition who want to sharpen their memory, attention and focus (Larriviere, Williams, Rizzo, & Bonnie, 2009; McCabe, Teter, Boyd, Knight, & Wechsler, 2005).  In addition, cognitive enhancement can also occur through the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Currently in clinical use for treating depression (D. R. Kim, Pesiridou, & O'Reardon, 2009), brain stimulation has also been demonstrated to show improvements in healthy people in working memory (Ohn, Park, & Yoo, 2008) language learning (Floel, Rosser, Muchka, Knecht, & Breitenstein, 2008) and complex motor tasks (Y. H. Kim, Park, Ko, Jang, & Lee, 2004)

There is much debate in the medical and psychological community pertaining to the ethical use of medications to enhance neural performance and Limitless speaks largely to the personal safety issue. One of the primary dangers of NZT is that its physical addiction creates life-threatening peril. Eddie begins to have memory “blackouts.” Without NZT, his mind and body crash, he can’t concentrate and he goes through a physical withdrawal that could kill him. While the film’s depiction of addiction may be played up in the name of dramatic tension, prescription drugs and brain stimulation used to enhance cognition for healthy people is not without risk. For example, prescription drugs carry a variety of risks related to safety and addiction, and TMS carries a risk, albeit rare, of seizures (Wassermann, 1998). These risks have led some experts in the field of addiction research to raise serious concerns about the use of neuroenhancement (Soyka, 2009).

There are a number of larger ethical questions that neuroenhancement brings up. For example, do cognitive enhancing drugs create unfair academic and work related advantages similar to those discussed in sports doping debates? Will neuroenhacements be able to alter not only cognition, but social and moral thought?   NZT does give Eddie Morra an unfair advantage in every area of his professional life. He secretly employs his power to gain personal wealth and fame. While his power is initially used for his personal gain, after a number of personal crises, in the end, Eddie turns to politics. Whether this choice is pro-social or the ultimate in power seeking is left up to the viewer.   The issue of how the “self” may be altered by neuroenhacement is broached more directly by Eddie’s girlfriend Lindey. After she takes NZT she admits she may have done things that she wouldn’t have done without the pill. Eddie, however, argues that he is the same. This issue, although just hinted at in the film, represents perhaps one of the more contentious issues related to the future of neuroenhancement. Studies using neurostimulation suggest that people can be influenced to alter aspects of their moral reasoning. TMS to the right parietal junction influenced participants to disregard the intention of an act in favor of a morally reasonable outcome (Young, Camprodon, Hauser, Pascual-Leone, & Saxe, 2010) and inhibitory stimulation to the frontal cortex had an effect such that “self-interest” often trumped a more typical “fairness” response in a reward seeking task (Fecteau et al., 2007).

If neuroenhancement can affect not only cognition, but mood and social and moral reasoning, do we then move into the brave new world of altering or creating entirely new selves? Currently there is no one drug that is Limitless. Even in this film, the pill’s effect is largely on learning and cognition. But Limitless opens the door to bigger questions: How far can neuroenhancement take us beyond our current limits, and do we want to go there?

References

Beyerstein, B. L. (1999). Whence Cometh the Myth that We Only Use 10% of our Brains? In S. D. Sala (Ed.), Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain.

Fecteau, S., Knoch, D., Fregni, F., Sultani, N., Boggio, P. S., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2007). Diminishing risk-taing behavior by modulating activity in the prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neuroscience(27), 12500-12505.

Floel, A., Rosser, N., Muchka, O., Knecht, S., & Breitenstein, C. (2008). Noninvasive brain stimulation improves language learning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience(20), 1415-1422.

Kim, D. R., Pesiridou, A., & O'Reardon, J. P. (2009). Transcrannial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports(11), 447-452.

Kim, Y. H., Park, J. W., Ko, M. H., Jang, S. H., & Lee, P. K. (2004). Facilitative effect of high frequency subhtreshold repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on complex sequential motor learning in humans. Neuroscience Letters(367), 181-185.

Larriviere, D., Williams, M. A., Rizzo, M., & Bonnie, R. J. (2009). Responding to requests from adult patients for neuroenhancements. Neurology, 73(17), 1406-1412. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181beecfe

McCabe, S. E., Teter, C. J., Boyd, C. J., Knight, J. R., & Wechsler, H. (2005). Nonmedical use of prescription opioids among U. S. college students: prevalence and correlates from a national survey. Addictive Behaviors(30), 789-805.

Ohn, S. H., Park, C. I., & Yoo, W. K. (2008). Time-dependent effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on the enhancement of working memory. Neuroreport(19), 43-47.

Soyka, M. (2009). Neuro-Enhancement aus suchtmedizinischer Sicht. Der Nervenarzt, 80(7), 837-839-839. doi: 10.1007/s00115-009-2800-7

Wassermann, E. M. (1998). Risk and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: report and suggested guidelines from the International Workshop on the Safety of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology(108), 1-16.

Young, L., Camprodon, J. A., Hauser, M., Pascual-Leone, A., & Saxe, R. (2010). Disruption of the right temporoparietal junction with transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces the role of beliefs in moral judgements. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA(107), 6753-6758.

13 Comments

Lorenzo Albala

11/23/2013 08:31:21 am

Very thought-provoking review and movie. I've often wondered about the notion that we only use a small portion of our brains. However, upon learning more about the mechanisms and processes that are governed by the brain, it’s hard for me to embrace that notion. Indeed, we use a small fraction of the brain in conscious though perhaps? There are countless subconscious mental networks that are activated by the mere task of walking: the human body can be considered to act like an inverse pendulum, it is impressive that we are able to remain upright, let alone perform acrobatic feats on an Olympic level. I believe that the human brain has evolved to minimize wasted space (just think of the extensive pruning of redundant and unused neuronal networks in development); is this not another term for what some may call unused portion of the brain?
With respect to the ethical questions posed by the reviewer, I do agree that reaching the biopharmaceutical prowess (as a society) to be able to provide neuroenhancement to the masses (will it be to the masses though?) will lead to a quandary of social, moral, and ethical issues. However, I am quite positive that—just like human cloning—this is something that researchers somewhere in some capacity are pursuing, and will probably achieve to some extent. It is the inevitable lust for humanity’s limits and solutions to its mysteries that drives it.

Kexin Han

1/27/2014 10:44:32 am

Limitless is a movie that makes me think a lot. I always feel like modern technology is making us become more and more lazy. It is not hard for most people to remember phone numbers and addresses a few decades ago. But now, a great number of us have to check our smart phones and computers to make sure calling the right number or walking down the right road. So what if there is a “smart pill” to make people remember and analyze easily? Is that pill make people smarter or just driving them crazy? I think this is a good movie to remind people how much potential we have inside brain and what we can do if we use our brain in a good way.

Adam King

2/6/2014 03:04:22 am

The movie Limitless really intrigues me, it is about a man who discovers a pill that makes him access his full brain and do incredible things. Well, wouldn’t everybody want to be able to ‘access their full mind’ like they say is possible in the movie? The review did a good job of explaining the different types of drugs that people are trying now to do something similar to what happens in the movie. However, the writer alludes to that fact that the whole movie is based on a myth. They say “You can only access 10% of your brain,” and the drug helps you access the other 90%. Neurologist Barry Gordon said “It turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that [most of] the brain is active almost all the time.” (Boyd) With this being the case, a drug as explained in the movie is not possible. According to the review, there are some drugs out there that can help memory and other things, but there is nothing that can make you access more of the brain that you already can. However, like the writer says, how far can neuroenhancement take us?

Works Cited

Boyd, Robynne. "Do People Only Use 10 Percent Of Their Brains?" Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc., 7 Feb. 2008. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.

Harry Whitney

3/2/2014 03:48:05 am

After watching the movie Limitless, there is not much to say when it comes to wrapping my head around its premier concepts. Some things just seem inherently impossible, and a lot of this movie doesn’t make sense. However, if it is possible to write a novel in four days, and amass a fortune in a matter of months, the only argument to fall back on is the elasticity and infinite capabilities that the human brain has.
The moral implication that this film has with regards to achievement and growth are more important than anything that Eddy is able to attain in his endeavors. In the end of the movie, the man drinks blood from a person he just murdered in order to get the drug NZT into his system. As pointed out in the study done on moral impairment, it is possible to affect the brain in ways that lead it to behavioral changes unaccounted for by the brain itself. (Young, Camprodon, Hause, Pascual-Leone, and Saxe, 2010) Perhaps Eddy is not in control of his power, but he is accountable for taking the brain-enhancing drug. In his highs, he is capable of great strength but also immense weakness. He manages to kill about four people, and almost kills himself. All of which is solely due to the taking of this super drug.
It is not true that parts of the brain can be unlocked, but if cognition can be enhanced with modern medicine, it should do so in a way that ensures safety for its users.

Michael Patruno

3/5/2014 03:08:22 am

I believe these kinds of situations are already being taken advantage of by people today, especially college students who use Adderall to focus even though they don’t actually need it. Researchers are already creating drugs that help with cognitive enhancement. For instance, the drug called Aniracetam, which is a nootropic, this particular nootropic helps with memory, intelligence, learning, and has very minimal side effects such as anti-anxiety. To me and to many others this may sound like a very beneficial solution, but like the reviewer mentioned how far can this go to the point that we as human beings aren’t the same person anymore? Do neuroenhancers provide access to that 90% of our brain that we allegedly don’t use?
Now the reason why this ten percent myth has been around for so long maybe because of psychics in pop culture believing that their supernatural powers were brought about by the use of the rest of their brains. In Limitless obviously Bradley Cooper did not gain supernatural powers, but there is still evidence against the notion that we only use 10% of our brains. People don’t use all of their brain at once, just like we don’t use all of our muscles at once. (CSIcop.org) fMRI and PET scans have already proven that parts of our brains don’t simply lay dormant. Also, the myth alludes to the fact that the parts of our brain that we don’t use are unnecessary, and yet if you get a stroke it still damages you nonetheless if it was in the 90% we don’t use. (CSIcop.org)

Radford, Ben. "The Ten-Percent Myth." The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. CSIcop.org, Mar. 1999. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. <http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_ten-percent_myth/>.

Vincent Gazzani

1/22/2015 12:43:41 pm

In my opinion, Limitless portrayed a realistic view of the future. Neuroenhancing drugs like NZT may not be in existence yet, however, with the continuous advancement in biotechnology and nanotechnology anything is possible. In the movie, Bradley Cooper or Eddie was able to remember any instance of his life as if he was a computer searching for an old file. What if there is a breakthrough in nanotechnology where a chip can be installed in your brain to instantly recall or pull-up any bit of information from your memory and upload it to your computer. We are empowered enough with smart phones and tablets that almost have the same processing power as our brain, but what if we connected the two? As we have all learned in psychology class, researchers have already mapped out the brain and know what parts of the brain control what parts of our cognitive processes, and it may be possible to connect this to a computer. According to Dr. Helen Fisher, a research professor at Rutgers University, some neuroscientists are close to figuring out how to upload the human mind onto a computer (Warmflash 2015). I can only imagine being able to pull up all my memories from a past psychology lecture using my Smartphone in order to help me complete my homework! All things considered, I think advances in neuroenhancement can bring a smarter and brighter future.

References

Warmflash, Zack. "Creating Superwoman (and Man): Who Will Benefit from Coming Age of Human Enhancement?" Genetic Literacy Project. N.p., 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.

Austin S.

11/22/2015 04:19:11 pm

A few years ago, I recall seeing Limitless in theaters and specifically remember how entertained I was. The film revolves around the events of a down on his luck writer after he takes a black market drug that significantly increases brain activity and productivity. While now being able to access is full brainpower, Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper) becomes a financial genius and quickly climbs to the top of the financial sector. Eventually a business man played by Robert De Niro recruits Eddie as an investor. Eddie loses his ability when he runs out of the brain-boosting drug (NZT). However, Eddie eventually overcomes the withdraw and develops ways to (allegedly) wean himself off of the drug while still retaining his ability and eliminating side effects. Overall, Limitless is entertaining yet does not quite provide a realistic representation of a brain disorder but rather a fictional brain enhancement.

Ubaid B

11/22/2015 08:08:56 pm

I remember watching Limitless when it first came out and although I thought it was an entertaining movie, it was based on the myth that we only use a small portion of our brain. The movie claims that only a small portion of the brain is used and when the main character, Eddie is introduced to a brain enhancer, he is now able to access and use all of his brain. Although there are cognitive enhancers that are used for different disorders such as slowing memory decline in Alzheimer’s patients, they are now used by “normal people” to sharpen their memory. I agree with the review that the movie accurately depicts the side effects of using drugs such as cognitive enhancers and other drugs. In the movie, Eddie experiences memory blackouts where his mind and body will crash. Although it may be a bit exaggerated, there are certain drugs that can lead to serious side effects such as hallucinations and memory deficits. Overall, I think the movie portrays cognitive enhancers in a way that is inaccurate and exaggerated.

Ian Lempitsky

1/11/2016 08:59:57 am

The movie Limitless shows us a great concept in science that you can use more of your brain, in a way that has never been conveyed, at least to our generation. Since I was little there was always the fact "we only use 10% of our brain" (Scientific American). I have always been intrigued by the "other 90%" that could be used, even if this myth is not true. One of the problems that I would have with a drug that could enhance the brain are the unfair advantages. I'm sure that not everyone would be able to get a hold of it, there would be a black market for it, and it would end up being dangerous. Just like Eddie in the movie, people could feel "like a new person" and that is extremely dangerous when it comes to addiction. I personally believe that between the unfair advantages for those who could use it, and the potentially bad and addicting side effects this would be very bad news. Another side effect that happens to almost everyone taking a drug, whether it be prescribed or not, is that they turn into a different person while on the drug (The Biological, Social…). If they were to take a brain enhancing drug every day, they could be changed forever which could be upsetting to those around the person such as family and friends. Overall, I think this is a scary idea and I hope that nothing like NZT is ever produced.

Sources:

Altman, J., J. Everett, D. Nutt, and W. Robbins. "The Biological, Social and Clinical Bases of Drug Addiction: Commentary and Debate." Psycohopharmacology 125.4 (June 1996): 285-345. Print.

Boyd, Robynne. "Do People Only Use 10 Percent Of Their Brains?" Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc., 7 Feb. 2008. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.

Declan Patterson

1/21/2016 01:08:34 pm

"When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man." - Clockwork Orange

As science keeps evolving, and with the current stuff out for neurological-enhancement (Adderal and such) , I wouldn't be surprised if in our life time we reach a point where we can alter a person's mind completely. I think once we reach this point were there is a kind of drug like the drug in limitless humanity is doomed. Neurological enhancement should be continued but should tread carefully. I believe it is unethical and unmoral and goes against the entirety of living if you subject yourself to changing your entire personality or artificially enhance your brain. Not only do I think this would be unethical I think this would also create an unfair advantage for many people. Obviously this drug would be expensive so people that could afford it would take it and become essentially more perfect while the poor people who can't access it will further suffer, and most likely if a drug like this was available and doctors knew the results of taking it they would only want a limited amount of people to take it otherwise everyone would be essentially on an equal playing field which would be great but the world isn't perfect and many people would want this drug to have limited access to people. Just like steroids I think this is an unfair advantage only a select people will have if this ever comes to be an actual thing. Changing oneself's with the use of a drug to me just seems so unethical and goes against the entire purpose of living and humanity.

Ryan Moore

2/16/2016 02:41:27 pm

The movie Limitless introduces the popular topic of neuro enhancement. This belief coincides with the myth that we only use 10 percent of our brains. This myth suggests that if humans were able to access their full potential, then we would be able to reach levels of extreme intelligence. From my experience in studying the human brain, such medication would be impossible to exist. This is due to the fact that humans already access 100 percent of their brain. According to an article, “Do We Use Only 10% of Our Brains?” under the website Neuroscience for Kids, the myth originated in the 1800s. It was introduced after removing parts of rat’s brains, they are still able to perform and retain certain tasks. If one was to remove even a small part of a human brain, the affects would be devastating. The cerebral cortex contains three areas, motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas. The myth explained above coincides with the association areas. The association areas make up approximately ¾ of the human brain. Considering this area is extremely harder to map, does not imply it is any less important. The association area is involved in higher mental functions such as learning. Damage to such areas have been recorded to cause personality and moral differences. People can still function but their ability to learn and interact are damaged. Such is illustrated in the Phineas Gage case where his personality altered after frontal lobe damage. To say one only uses 10 percent of their brain is false because if it were true then damage to the association area wouldn’t cause problems but in fact it does.

Chudler, Eric H. "Do We Use Only 10% of Our Brains?" Neuroscience For Kids. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. <https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html>.

Brennan Connolly

2/28/2016 11:40:30 am

The movie Limitless sheds a light on a topic that seems to get more interesting by the year, drugs that enhance certain mental abilities. In the movie, the main character, Eddie, takes advantage of a drug that seems to make him able to learn anything and he also is given the motivation to want to turn his life around. The problem comes when Eddie runs out of his miracle drug, and like most drugs, it comes with a price that is paid when you stop taking said drug. When Eddie stops taking NZT he goes through a physical withdrawal so awful, it could kill him if he doesn’t get more. In the real world, NZT obviously does not exist, however there are drugs that try to emulate its abilities. The problems always come when the user becomes addicted to the idea of being successful and having that idea that they are a better version of themselves when on the drug. Then the user builds dependence and will usually go through withdrawal if they decide to quit. The root problem is that your ordinary person doesn’t understand how fragile the brain is, and that putting a drug into it that makes it perform unnatural processes is going to have negative consequences. As Amy Arnsten, Professor of Neurobiology at Yale Medical School suggests about “smart drugs” affecting brain function, “It’s not just about more, it’s about having to be exquisitely and exactly right. And that’s very hard to do,” (Kohn).

Sources
Kohn, Marek. "The Truth About Smart Drugs." www.bbc.com. British Broadcasting Corporation, 29 July 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

Laura Puzia

3/6/2016 04:34:03 pm

The movie Limitless was very interesting. It challenged the idea of being able to access 100% of our brain, as opposed to the 20% that normal people can actually tune in to. A "friend" introduces a pill to Eddie Morra, which is FDA approved and has had clinical trials done that makes one be able to access all of the brain. Eddie Morra trials the drug and finds that he is able to excel in all things- his work, personal life, and simply, being. All areas of his brain are heightened: Broca's area for pronunciation and grammar, Wernicke's area for language comprehension, and his frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobe's (areas for higher bodily functions, bodily sensations, vision and hearing). Eddie soon becomes addicted to the "wonder drug" pill, NZT, as he sees how helpful in his everyday life it the pill is. This drug exaggerates the real world drugs of those for ADD/ADHD. Having ADD, I see others abuse drugs such as adderall, since people get "immense ability to function and do work". Though the pill in Limitless is essentially fake, less exaggerated versions of the drug does exist which work as cognitive enhancers or neuroenhancers for those with Attention Deficit Disorder/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by enhancing their regular ability to pay attention (Rosenberg).

Rosenberg, Robin S., PHD. "Limitless: Some Thoughts About the Film." Psychology Today. Robin S. Rosenberg, 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

Limitless

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