Nootropics and Cognitive Enhancement

Whoever has seen the movie Limitless starring Bradley Cooper would remember certain notable scenarios where his enhanced abilities were nothing short of impressive.

One such instance responsible for this impression is the scene where he ingested the performance enhancement pill NZT-48 for the first time.

His first time using the drug helped him get in a superman-like-mode both in physical and intellectual prowess. Enough to get him to hand in a sizable amount of pages as part of the content of a book he'd been contracted to write a few months earlier but had trouble beginning.

Science fiction thrillers like the 2011 movie Limitless starring Bradley Cooper or the 2014 movie Lucy starring Scarrlett Johansson have popularized certain opinions about some class of drugs that offers the opportunity to give superhuman abilities like increased memory, enhanced analytical skills, psychokinetic abilities and generally makes you smarter than others.

These class of drugs are known as nootropics.

So what are nootropics? We'll talk about that in a moment but first, I am going to tell you what nootropics are not.

• Nootropics are not smart drugs, using them will not get you to turn $12, 000 to $2, 000, 000 under a week like Mr Eddie Morra from Limitless.

  True, nootropic drugs will boost your performance but it's not like you'll get some superhero powers overnight.

• Nootropics are not always safe to use. There have been cases of seizures and even deaths that are a direct result of the usage of performance boosters.

• Nootropics tend to have varying effects on different people. These various effects are usually influenced by external factors ranging from the present environmental conditions to how stressed out the user is.

In this post I will be giving

• A general overview of nootropic drugs and how they work

• Certain examples of nootropic drugs in common use

• Short notes about aerobic exercises as healthier alternatives to nootropics.

Definition Of Nootropics

Nootropics are cognitive enhancers.

A 2015 article by Fulvio Gualtieri described cognitive enhancers as drugs that should restore normal conditions in individuals that have cognitive dysfunctions due to ageing or to age-related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders.

The reports from this study by experts in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Frankfurt explained how Piracetam treatment was used to improve mitochondrial function in dissociated brain cells of mice.

Piracetam is also commonly used in many countries of the world to treat cases of brain injuries and dementia.

This report talks about the effectiveness of using oxiracetam combined with the nerve growth factor in treating hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage.

Both drugs mentioned above are examples of first rate nootropics, and it is quite obvious now that the purpose of developing cognitive activity enhancing drugs is not to create ultra-smart people but instead to treat people with neurally impaired conditions.

The above statement leads to the question about whether the common usage of nootropics among healthy users to boost productivity is a case of drug abuse.

To answer this question we have to understand the reasons why a healthy person might choose to use nootropics.

The reasons are not far fetched, lots of people desire to experience overall success in different or specific aspects of their life.

A perfect example is a sportsman looking for ways to boost his performance on the field without having to go through more physical pain brought by intense practice.

Such sportsman might resort to the use of nootropics to empower himself and bolster his abilities.

In simple terms, nootropic drug usage can be amounted to a quest for shortcuts and accelerated results environment on part of the user.

Depending the functions of the nootropic drug the user might start to experience improvement in certain faculties like creative thinking, improved memory and the likes.

In May of 2012, the results of a study prepared by experts from the University of Cambridge was published as an article, the article talked about the different effects of modafinil a common and popular nootropic drug in task enjoyment and creative thinking.

Modafinil has been found to improve creative thinking and memory capabilities in both healthy and neurally impaired animals.

Nootropic drugs have also been found to enhance body motor functions and supply mental energy in certain studies.

However, certain antipsychotic nootropics have been known to lead to anticholinergic toxicity due to the consistent improper usage of the drug as established by this report.

Instances of anticholinergic toxicity are sometimes as a result of using multiple cognitive enhancers simultaneously.

Excessive use of some nootropic drugs have also been found to lead to seizures, epilepsy and even death in some cases.

A particular class of nootropics known as psychostimulants came into wide usage among teens and high school students in order to boost cognitive functions.

This wide range of acceptance and usage among a population of seemingly healthy kids does not come without its downsides.

The side effects of nootropic usage among teens has been known to potentially include behavioral flexibility impairment with an additional risk of addiction over time.

Examples of Nootropic Drugs

The following are seven common cognitive enhancers in use today.

1. Modafinil

A stimulant compound that has been used in Europe to treat daytime sleepiness in narcoleptic patients.

Modafinil has a high level of tolerance and is usually a preferred alternative to amphetamine.

Intake of modafinil is known to increase wakefulness in its user.

A study conducted on 24 individuals with narcoleptic conditions indicates that modafinil can be used in the successful treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia and narcolepsy.

Modafinil as a cognitive enhancer is popular among students generally as a drug that can improve learning abilities, increase alertness and concentrate better.

2. Ritalin

Ritalin, a class of methylphenidate is a nootropic prescription drug marketed by Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation and is the most common drug for treating Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) usually used in combination with other remedial treatment such as therapy.

Also known as ritalin hydrochloride is described as a mild central nervous system stimulant.

When ingested ritalin is presumed to activate the arousal system in the brain stem and cortex to show its effectiveness.

Using ritalin can escalate the level of anxiety in the user, for this reason it is not recommended for patients with hypertensive problems.

This report establishes that some ADHD patients may experience some level of depression, irritability after medicating on ritalin.

The above fact is not strictly proven and there's a possibility that the reasons for these side effects could be due factors independent of the medication.

This 2005 survey estimates that over 7% of students in the US at that time have used stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall to boost their focus and enhance learning capabilities and this percentage keeps rising yearly.

3. Adderall

Adderall is also commonly used in treating ADHD in children said to have the same effects as ritalin.

Adderall is recommended for children who are quick to work off the effects of ritalin.

Adderall performs by altering catecholamine levels in the nervous system in order to boost stimulation.

This alteration then boosts the activity level of the nervous system.

Adderall is made up of amphetamine salts, dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine.

After usage it will be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and is expected take full effect on the brain within a three hour span.

Intake of adderall can lead to loss of appetite and insomnia in people of all ages.

4. Aniracetam

Aniracetam is a nootropic drug that enhances quisqualate receptor-mediated
responses in Xenopus oocytes injected with brain mRNA and in hippocampal pyramidal cells.

As a cognitive enhancer aniracetam is more favored than its counterparts because it is known to reduce anxiety and boost the mood of the user.

It is a class of the racetam drugs and it has been found to strongly reduce glutamate receptor desensitization.

A 1995 study comparing aniracetam to one of its cogeners IDRA 21 establishes that aniracetam is useful in treating alprazolam induced learning deficits, though at the end of the study it was concluded that IDRA 21 was about 10 times more potent than aniracetam in handling the same issue.

Aniracetam has also been used to improve mental conditions of patients with cardiovascular disease.

Most of the effects identified with aniracetam are limited to the central nervous system.

Aniracetam has been found to increase bladder capacity in cerebral infarcted rats. The rate of increase in each case being dependent on the dosage ingested.

5. Piracetam

Piracetam is a nootropic used in the commonly used in treating several impairment conditions.

An example of its usage is in the rehabilitation and improvement of language recovery in poststroke aphasic patients.

Piracetam is a cyclic derivative of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

Piracetam is formed after a molecule of water is lost followed by a ring formation.

Piracetam is widely acknowledged as the leading nootropic drug and has been in clinical use since 1972 after it was synthesized by Giurgea in UCB Laboratories in Belgium.

Widely used in treating dementia, sickle cell and stroke piracetam has also been used as a cognitive enhancer due to its ability to boost reading comprehension, alertness and social skills.

Apart from cognitive enhancement piracetam has also been recommended as an alternative enhancer in place of Viagra for people looking to boost their sex life.

6. Coleus Forskohlii

The only known source of diterpenoid forskolin, which is used in treating ezcema, psoriasis and cardiovascular disorders.

Coleus Forskohlii is an indigenous plant grown in India, and a prominent ingredient in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

Ingesting the derivative drug Forskolin that's gotten from Coleus Forskohlii has been established to lower elevated blood pressure in different animals through a vasodilatory effect.

Forksolin works by activating adenylate cyclase which is an enzyme with important roles in all cells, it has been established that forskolin causes a 10 fold increase in the activity of adenylate cyclase.

7. Sildenafil

Sildenafil inhibits cyclic guanosine monophosphate in the corpus cavernosum which helps men get aroused.

It is a highly recommended drug for men with erectile dysfunction.

Sildenafil intake has been said to lead to side effects like nausea and headache in some patients, and there have also been cases of discontinued treatment due to effects like dyspepsia.

Other serious side effects include prolonged erection and sudden hearing loss.

Sildenafil is sold in the market under the brand name Viagra.

Aerobic Physical Activities as an Alternative To Cognitive Enhancement Drugs

So we have covered seven different nootropic drug in common use, their uses and how they affect their users.

Aerobic activity has been said to improve cardiovascular fitness in healthy ageing animals.

Aerobic fitness exercises have also been linked to prevention of unsafe conditions such as obesity and depression. They help build self confidence, strengthen the respiratory system and is good for the overall well being.

For people who don't want to run the risk of certain side effects that come with ingesting cognitive enhancement drugs, you can try out any known aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming, cardio machines e.t.c to boost your cognitive abilities.

Exercises like walking can help elderly people improve their walking posture through gait training.