[TPIN] Article: Drugs to build up that mental muscle

[Stan Baptista]

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-braindoping20dec20,1,7766974,full.story?coll=la-news-science&ctrack=2&cset=true

I was surprised to find that according to the article above, musicians
and others are using drugs like Ritalin, Provigil, and Inderal to
"clarify their minds, improve their concentration or control their
emotions."

The article states that "[i]n the world of classical music, beta
blockers such as Inderal have become _nearly as commonplace as
metronomes_."

Wow.

I'm not surprised that musicians would try performance-enhancing
drugs, I just didn't know about these in particular. Unlike the drugs
causing pro baseball all the grief, they're not illegal.

Is the usage really that widespread? Do they work?

-Stan