No.5
Nootropics?Background>Wait, what am I even doing here? >What are nootropics?>Hold the fuck up, am I going to get a brain tumor or start wanting to fuck ponies? You've made your way to /noot/ probably due to the digital telomeres that 8chan is comprised of and wondered to yourself, "If a brain could wear glasses, would it?" They can, and you should've listened to your mom when she told you not sit so close to the fucking T.V. set because now you have autism.Whatever exponential factors, be it genetic or environmental, that may come to play with how our brains are wired, we're lucky to be born in a century where we can order powders, pills, and EEG machines that could give our brains some muscle.Let's get started.A. On Definitions.1. Nootropics is a term, signifier, lifestyle, marketing ploy*, and beyond everything else, a drug that refers to compounds, both inorganic and organic that positively affect the brain.* On nootropics being the buzz of all marketing ploys on the internet: Given the popularity of films such as Limitless, a brand around nootropics has grown to further the interests of shills who will make you pay out the ass for their bulletproof enemas and their ALPHA BRAIN gummy multivitamins. Don't overpay for your nootropics and don't be a sap when it comes to underhanded marketing. As always, tread carefully with products that are alleging any brain boners.2. Nootropics have been around for longer than a millennia, with the more spoken about nootropics being around 40-50 years. Bacopa, Ginkgo, Caffeine go back to the stone age, where as Modafinil and Piracetam have been studied since the 60s. Nootropics are largely sought after for their relatively effective and safe profiles.B. Mechanism of Action.1. Nootropics are thought to work by modulating neuronal metabolism, cerebral oxygenation, neurotransmitter availability, increasing neurotrophic factors and by affecting other cellular processes. The exact mechanism of action will depend on the compound. Nootropics will 'not' be the spice melange to your life, but they will give you a much needed edge to compete in today's world with minimal side-effects.2. The applications for Nootropics vary widely, from memory to mood stabilization. The most popular nootropic - Piracetam (2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine-acetamide) is the forerunner and first drug to be coined the term "nootropic". Piracetam was the first compound developed in the racetam “family” of cognitive enhancing nootropic supplements. It was created synthetically by Belgium lab UCB Pharma in 1964 as a means for improving corpus callosum communication.3. The areas that benefit from nootropic intervention will differ depending on the type of nootropic you choose to use. Areas of interest are: the cholinergic system (memory, decision-making, focus) and the dopaminergic/serotonergic system (mood, motivation, reward as well as areas of memory and focus).C. Achtung! Toxicity1. Everyone is different. That being said, don't expect another individual's anecdotal experience with one particular nootropic to be the same as yours until you've tried it for yourself. Nootropics have been extensively studied, yet the long-term effects for these drugs are still not completely understood. There are always risks that you should be willing to take when experimenting with drugs that affect one's neurochemistry. Correlation does not match causation, although nootropics do show that they have been tolerated well with those who do choose to experiment with these mind-altering substances.2. Excessive manipulation of neurotransmitter systems can lead to various unpleasant pathologies including serotonin syndrome, depression, anxiety and stimulant psychosis.3. Some compounds may interact with the metabolism of other drugs. This could adversely affect the safety and effectiveness of certain treatments.4. Some compounds can cause down-regulation and withdrawal symptoms when they've been taken regularly or at high-doses.5. Mood-lifting and dopaminergic compounds may make some people manic.6. Mixing MAO (MAO-A) inhibitors with tyrosine supplements or foods containing tyramine, can cause serious hypertensive side effects. Get off your antidepressant and then try nootropics. If you need to stick with your antidepressant then ask your doctor before you experiment.7. Manufacturers of bulk powder from Alibaba and similar sites have a history of passing off inauthentic products, many suppliers use them. The risk of inauthentic product is especially high with new and exotic substances. ALWAYS look for non-manufacturer certificates of analysis (COAs).8. Don't expect to develop Stevens-Johnson syndrome with your first baby dose of Modafinil. If you're feeling sick, stop taking whatever is making you sick. Simple? Great.Studies of EfficacyBacopa monnieri -
BM demonstrates immense potential in the amelioration of cognitive disorders, as well as prophylactic reduction of oxidative damage, NT modulation, and cognitive enhancement in healthy people. Biomedical research on BM is still in its infancy, but preliminary results such as these have begun to open the research floodgates. It is critical that much longer-term studies be conducted BM in combination with other substances, as is prescribed by the Ayurvedic system, may result in synergistic effects and should also be investigated. The social implications of cognition-enhancing drugs are promising but must be appropriately tempered with ethical consideration as researchers enter the brave new world of neural enhancement.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746283/Piracetam -
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can be associated with postoperative cognitive impairment and ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of piracetam to treat the cognitive impairment after CABG in an investigator-initiated, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Patients undergoing CABG (n = 98) were randomized to placebo or piracetam. Study drugs were administered intravenously (150 mg/kg daily; 300 mg/kg on the day of surgery) from the day before surgery to 6 days after surgery, then orally (12 g/day) up to 6 weeks after surgery. Six weeks after CABG, cognition was significantly improved in patients treated with piracetam.Exp Ther Med. Feb 2014 Feb. Effect of piracetam on the cognitive performance of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery: A meta-analysis. Cognitive impairments are observed in numerous patients following coronary bypass surgery, and piracetam are nootropic compounds that modulate cerebral functions by directly enhancing cognitive processes. The present meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of piracetam on the cognitive performance of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery. The relevant studies were identified by searching Medline, EMBASE, PubMed and the Cochrane Library up to June 2013 and the pertinent bibliographies from the retrieved studies were reviewed. Results indicated that piracetam may have been effective in improving the short-term cognitive performance of patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery.http://www.raysahelian.com/piracetam.htmlAlpha-GPC -
The present study investigates the effect of the administration of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (alpha-GPC) on scopolamine-induced amnesia and on brain acetylcholine (ACh) levels and release in rats. The results indicate that alpha-GPC, when administered orally, reverses the amnesia caused by scopolamine in passive avoidance. The peak effect is observed using 600 mg/kg IG, 5 h before training. The effect of the drug is long lasting (up 30 h) in accordance with its pharmacokinetic characteristics. Since, alpha-GPC administered IG is cleaved within the gut mucosal cells to glycerophosphate and free choline, it is tempting to speculate that this drug acts by increasing the ACh precursor pool. This view is supported also by the observation that alpha-GPC partially counteracts the decrease of brain ACh levels elicited by scopolamine administration. The effect is observed in the hippocampus and cortex, but not in the striatum. Moreover, in ex vivo experiments, alpha-GPC is able to increase the amount of ACh released by rat hippocampus slices following potassium stimulation.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1662399Resources for the Beginner1.
http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/36691-ten-months-of-research-condensed-a-total-newbies-guide-to-nootropics/2.
http://www.gwern.net/Nootropics3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropic Post last edited at 2015-01-05 10:40:13
No.8
Babby /noot/'s First Stack for under $50L-Theanine - 100mgCaffeine - 50mg (100mg if tolerance-reliant)Fish Oil - 1g DHA + EPAPiracetam - 1.6g 3x per dayCDP Choline - 300mg====================1. L-Theanine and Caffeine are commonly recommended as a great starting point for the world of nootropics.L-theanine is thought to have both antioxidant and relaxant effects. 1 Some animal studies have shown that the amino acid may also be helpful in lowering lipids in the blood , fighting obesity, and preventing cognitive dysfunction and stroke. When combined with a caffeine source you'll be able to enjoy all the benefits of caffeine without the crash or jitters. An excellent beginning to any stack.$1.85 -
http://www.powdercity.com/products/l-theanine-benefits$1.52 -
http://www.powdercity.com/products/caffeine-anhydrousFish oil, touted as the mother of all supplements is one part of your stack that you'll never go wrong with. Even if you don't give a shit about nootropics, you should still take fish oil. The inclusion of plentiful DHA in the diet improves learning ability, whereas deficiencies of DHA are associated with deficits in learning. DHA is taken up by the brain in preference to other fatty acids. The turnover of DHA in the brain is very fast, more so than is generally realized. The visual acuity of healthy, full-term, formula-fed infants is increased when their formula includes DHA. During the last 50 years, many infants have been fed formula diets lacking DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids. DHA deficiencies are associated with foetal alcohol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, unipolar depression, aggressive hostility, and adrenoleukodystrophy.$14.02 -
http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-DHA-500-180-Softgels/dp/B003O1U77I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420449851&sr=8-1&keywords=fish+oil+dha3. The post before goes over Piracetam in some detail, but essentially - it improves the function of neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, critical in memory processing, and on NMDA glutamate receptors which, in addition to memory, are specifically linked to learning as well.- Greater memory retention and improved learning. In one study, participants undertook the task of memorizing words. The piracetam group had significantly increased learning over the period of the study. [1]- Creativity boosts. Piracetam improves communication between the left (often referred to as the analytical) and right (creative) sides of the brain. Creating more communication between the two could improve creative abilities. [1]- Improving cognitive impairments. Numerous studies have been performed on groups with cognitive impairments due to old age or medical conditions. In these, piracetam was able to help these subjects and improve their mental function. [2]- Improvement in overall mental performance. Piracetam helps people without mental impairment as well. Simply taking piracetam has been shown to help people perform better by increasing alertness to the task at hand.[3][1]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1794001[2]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12006732[3]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/785952$8.95 -
https://newstarnootropics.com/piracetam4. A choline source does little alone, but is absolutely necessary when taking Piracetam. Its benefits will be greatly enhanced when mixed with an acetylcholine precursor such as CDP Choline. This stack will lead to heightened improvements to your memory, recall, reaction times, learning, and energy levels. Great overall, and also many people complain of headaches while on Piracetam without an acetylcholine precursor to their stack.$14.85 -
http://www.powdercity.com/products/cdp-choline-powderA better brain all for under $50 for anyone who's interested in taking a chance. Post last edited at 2015-01-05 10:42:14