As a teenager Laurie Pycroft made headlines across the globe with his stand in support of animal testing for research at Oxford University.

Whatever your views on animal testing, it was difficult not to admire the courage it must have taken to create the Pro-Test group and criticise extremist animal rights campaigners — at a time when anyone inclined to avoid death threats or letter bombs was well advised to keep their heads down.

Oxford University, and arguably the UK’s science establishment, had good cause to be grateful to Mr Pycroft.

The fact that such steely determination and unwavering focus would eventually bring him to Oxford University is perhaps no great surprise, even if his route to Balliol College was hardly orthodox and untroubled.

Nor will it surprise you to learn that we were engaged in an intense discussion about testing in the name of research soon after meeting up — that is until you realise it is actually his own body that has been undergoing the testing in the name of science.

For by the weirdest of ironies, the boy who supported animal experiments has, at 22, ended up turning himself into what you can only describe as a human guinea pig.

As he willingly admitted to millions of BBC television viewers in a Newsnight special investigation, Mr Pycroft has been taking cognitive enhancing drugs in order to discover the effect on his brain.

As a second year Oxford University student studying physiological sciences, he has developed a special interest in neuropharmacology.

But this seems to have extended to taking the drug modafinil to assess whether it could boost his mental powers and performance.

Usually prescribed to treat medical conditions, cognitive enhancing drugs are also said to improve memory and focus.

A recent article in the New Scientist magazine, which carried out a survey with the Newsnight programme, highlighted the risks.

It says: “Many people buy them over the Internet, which is risky because they don’t know what they are getting. We also know next to nothing about their long-term effects on the brains of healthy people, particularly the young. But some scientists believe they could have a beneficial role to play in society, if properly regulated.

“While some cognitive enhancers, such as ritalin, are controlled drugs. Modafinil is not, so it is legal to buy online, though it is illegal to supply it without a prescription.”

While most students are still happy to drink a cup of coffee or go on a run to stay alert, it is claimed a growing number of university students are now turning to cognitive enhancers to help get through their academic work.

Mr Pycroft, who comes from Swindon, says he decided to take modafinil to test its ability to stay awake for long periods — Keith Richards-like.

Only, unlike the Rolling Stones guitarist, who would party without sleep for days at a time, Mr Pycroft’s mind would remain sharp.

Mr Pycroft said: “I’ve taken it a few times, out of curiosity. The effects can vary but for me I found that it improved my concentration and allowed me to stay awake for significant periods of time.”

The drug allowed him to stay awake for between 20 or 30 hours. “Working on an essay, it’s very useful,” he said. “The US military have tested it on fighter pilots. Everything suggests that it increases focus and memory although it might reduce creative thoughts. So it might be good for revising but not so good writing an exam paper. The jury is still out on that.

“As I understand it, it is legal to purchase modafinil but not to sell. The best strategy to buying online is to find someone who has previously purchased it. I certainly would not recommend any drugs to anybody. It is up to each individual to choose what chemicals they want to put in their body No one yet knows the risks fully.”

An anonymous questionnaire undertaken by Newsnight and New Scientist was completed by 761 people, with 38 per cent saying they had taken cognitive enhancing drugs. Of these, 40 per cent said they had bought the drug online and 92 per cent said they would try again.

But Mr Pycroft said that he did not believe that they were widely used at Oxford University.

He is now considering choosing cognitive drugs as the subject of his extended essay.

As someone fascinated by the whole issue of how the human body and brain can be advanced through “technological modifications”, he is secretary of the university’s Transhumanist Group.

The Pro-Test group, which he created at the age of 16 in 2006, was officially disbanded earlier this year.

Why? “Because we won,” he said with a casual shrug.

The debate certainly will not go away, but for him the opening of the university’s Biomedical Science Building effectively signalled mission accomplished.

He had famously decided on taking his stand when, on a visit to Oxford, he witnessed a noisy demonstration against the science building.

After subsequently leading 1,000 supporters through the streets of Oxford, he found himself being hailed by academics, commentators and politicians, and was the subject of a glowing profile in The New York Times.

But it turns out he was far from the supremely self-confident, high-achieving student that most imagined him to be.

As a schoolboy he suffered from depression, finding it difficult on some days even to get out of bed. He was forced to drop out of school, missing most of year 11.

He was to only manage three weeks in the sixth-form.

While his stance on animal testing resulted in death threats and his parents having to fit a panic button in their home, he reckons his Pro-Test days played an important part in restoring his self-esteem.

But he was never to sit any A-levels, instead he went to Swindon College to complete access courses, designed for people who leave school without the usual qualifications, before completing his biomedical admissions test (BMAT), a subject-specific admissions test, to get into Oxford.

Mr Pycroft is well aware that some continue to regard his place at Balliol — secured without any A-levels, never mind A grades — as some kind of payback for his past services to university science.

“First, I would say I was careful not to mention Pro-Test in the interview or my statements,” he told me. “In the end of year exams I got a distinction in the neuro-science examination, which I think is a reasonable indication that there are just reasons for me to be here. The impression I get is that tutors look at passion rather than just people who do well in tests.

“But there is a link between Pro-Test and me being here. Before the campaign I wanted to go to Imperial College. But having worked with Pro-Test I fell in love with the city. I really applied on a whim. I didn’t think I had much chance of getting in.”

Now, with or without modafinil in his body, you get the impression Mr Pycroft is fully awake to the opportunity that has been given to him.