Posted by bob on April 3, 2000, at 15:14:56
In reply to Re: SSRI's: maybe cause dumbness? - Uh-uh, posted by Cam W. on April 3, 2000, at 14:03:00
Just to follow up on what Cam had to say (and since I'd be another Dr. Bob, in this area of study, IF it wasn't for that dang paperwork):
IQ tests measure exactly what it is that an IQ test measures. Few learning psychologists nowadays, tho, consider it possible to capture what intelligence is in one single number.
The seven intelligences Cam mentioned are one view on the topic, and a very popular one at that. Go to any bookstore and look in the psych section (or the education section, if they have one) for stuff written by Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences. Gardner bases his distinctions on what cultures define as arenas of valued behaviors or traits and, thus, a person's level of performance in each of those arenas. IQ tests tend to measure logical/mathematical reasoning and verbal reasoning well, and some handle spatial reasoning too. But actors in the $20M club don't get there by being brainy -- they get to that level by demonstrating other types of culturally-valued performance.
A different perspective on intelligence, tho, may be more of help here ... a perspective which, btw, is in no way in contradiction to Gardner's perspective--the two work together quite well. This other view gets down to more of the "mechanics" of intelligence. You can think about it as (1) what you know (declarative knowledge), (2) what you know how to do (procedural knowledge), and (3) how well you go about managing your own thinking (metacognition). By saying a drug can make you "dumb" or "smart", your doctor was probably referring to one of these.
First thing to remember is that other than doing some serious permanent damage to your brain, you won't really loose any of the intelligence that you have. Even in cases of brain damage, even in older adults, the brain still finds ways to reroute information processing and retrieval (something I've seen firsthand with my father, a multiple stroke victim who lost his ability to read, but regained it through months of difficult OT). In older people, a "use it or lose it" attitude can be essential to keeping the mind sharp and "well oiled", but its an "exercise plan" that is never too late to begin, for most people.
"Intelligence", in this perspective, means many things. The more of it you have, the smarter you are. The better your methods are, the smarter you are. The faster you think, the smarter you are. The more you can apply one skill to many areas, the smarter you are. The better you manage your thinking and avoid distractions, the smarter you are. The more planful you are in solving problems, the smarter you are. The more you take reasonable risks to push your limits--whether you succeed or fail--the smarter you are.
And as Cam (and Gardner) point out, while you might be "Einstein-smart" in these sorts of areas, it doesn't mean you're going to be "J. Paul Getty-smart" as well. Its often the case that more specialized we are in our smarts, the more we may have blindspots in other areas (such as remembering the address of where you live ... one of Einstein's problems).
As for psychotropic meds and all this -- yes, they can have some impact either positively or negatively ... your mileage may vary, even for the same drug. I'll use me as an example, since I've been on quite a few:
Unmedicated, my concentration and focus is rather poor. I do have a rather good perspective on what I know and what I don't know, tho. When it comes to what I know, I push myself and usually wind up better for it. When it comes to what I don't know, I rarely have the motivation to take a risk, even though "intellectually" I *know* this is the best way to improve.
My first time on Zoloft, I had a manic reaction to it. My confidence soared to the point of intellectual arrogance. My focus was incredibly sharp, and my mind was extremely "quick" and "agile", to the point of not considering the consequences of my actions (whether I succeeded or not).
After going off zoloft from that first time, I have never had the same effect. For the most part, it really impaired my "short term memory" -- I would have to write everything down and, even then, I would forget to look at the notes I would leave myself. I had to get into the habit of taping these notes up where I would see them in order to maintain any sort of schedule.
Going on klonopin eased an constantly heightened sense of anxiety that had played into all areas of my thinking. It resulted in more confidence in my own decision-making, and a more direct approach to finding answers to the questions I faced rather than worrying over every possibility.
Most recently, starting on ritalin has aided my concentration and clarity, without all the hyperactivity and carelessness I had that first go on zoloft.
Those are just a few examples. The "smarts" don't necessarily last, nor do the "stupids". I do think there are two lessons:
First and foremost, there are ways to get around the "stupids", like with my short term memory problems. They usually involve (1) making thinking as concrete and visible as possible (yes, writing a note to remind yourself of something counts as thinking), (2) trying to take several approaches to improve areas of weakness (like not just writing things on a white board that I needed to get accomplished, but discussing them with my boss each day and turning on the alarm on my watch so that when it beeped at 2:30, I would remember to actually look at the white board and assess what I'd done that day), and (3) "distributing" your thinking where you can (the white board, the watch alarm, my boss were all parts of how I "thought").
Second: during the good times, keep a diary--document in some way the things you think you are doing better and how or why this is. Not only is it important for reminding yourself in bad times that you are more capable, it will hopefully provide some information on how to find a different way of doing the same things.
er, make that THREE lessons:
Stupid or smart aren't permanent things. Just because you have the smarts doesn't mean you're using them. Similarly, not having the smarts isn't a life sentence of stupid. We all learn incidentally every day in the course of living. If you approach it more purposefully, you'll learn even more.
my buck and a quarter,
bob
poster:bob
thread:28729
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000401/msgs/28757.html