ABSTRACT
This chapter will discuss the impact of pharmacology on learning. That is, how pharmacological agents – drugs –may positively impact learning. It will not venture (much) into the neuroscience of learning, as that is more expertly discussed elsewhere in this book. I will situate the discussion of pharmacologic action on learning within the model of learning proposed by Peter Jarvis in numerous texts, including Adult and Continuing Education: Theory and Practice (2004), Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Theory and Practice (2010), and this Handbook. My goal is that this unique approach to the discussion of the pharmacologic action on learning will add a different perspective to the body of knowledge in the current literature. This discussion of pharmacology and learning will be limited to adult learners. Neuroscientists and social
scientists agree that the learning process is very different in children than in adults. Further, this chapter will discuss the enhancement of learning in “normal” or healthy individuals through
pharmacological agents. However, the action of natural health products (e.g., ginkgo biloba), vitamins, minerals, and foods are beyond the scope of this discussion.
