An oral-dose experiment found small changes in selected social ratings but no improvement in facial emotion recognition. Its results do not support a general claim that amphetamine makes people more socially perceptive.
Dolder and colleagues tested 24 healthy volunteers in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover experiment with equimolar d-amphetamine 40 mg and lisdexamfetamine 100 mg. Tests measured facial emotion recognition, empathy, ratings of sexual and neutral material, and several cognitive functions. This report examined additional outcomes from the experiment also used to compare the drugs’ pharmacokinetics, rather than an independent replication of that exposure study.
Neither drug affected facial emotion recognition. D-amphetamine increased direct empathy only for positive stimuli. Ratings of pleasantness or attractiveness changed for selected stimuli, including neutral material; that qualification limits a specifically sexual interpretation. Cognitive findings were also selective, with benefits in some vigilance or accuracy measures but no digit-span effect. A difference reaching significance for one formulation does not by itself demonstrate a significant difference between formulations.
The trial used a single high research dose of each drug in healthy non-sleep-deprived participants. Its results do not establish effects of ordinary social interactions, chronic use or other doses. Ratings of attractiveness, emotional empathy and emotion-recognition accuracy are different measurements. None diagnoses a person’s intent or explains a particular interpersonal action. The paper supports modest, domain-specific acute effects while leaving real-world social consequences unresolved. The dose comparison is scientific evidence, not a recommendation for cognitive or social enhancement.
See the companion pharmacokinetic question about delayed exposure and peak effects.