I became interested in this topic a long time ago, after watching the legendary movie "The Dark Regions" 🙂 Since then, a lot of theoretical information about the effects of nootropics has been accumulated, which was confirmed by practice, on me and other people.
I'll make a small digression right away - using nootropics "in their purest form" will not make you an Arrestovich😁 I've already written that we become smarter through social contacts and comprehension of various skills, but nootropics can help you with these processes.
And of course a digression for some doctors and other smart people: If it's all "fuflomycin", as you like to "smarten up" in Instagrams, I advise you to conduct a simple experiment to make sure the opposite is true:
We go to the pharmacy, buy cheap piracetam. We take 2 grams. We wait a couple hours and see the effect🙂 Your problem is that you "smarten up" about drugs that you have never tried yourself. You can't do that. Often, to criticize - you need to try it, no matter how it sounds to you 😉
So, my rating and review of nootropics:
I will start with the banal - racetams. The most famous representative is piracetam. Studies on racetams are quite contradictory. But from them we can assume that the drug increases the rate of metabolism of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine in the central nervous system through its effect on glutamate receptors. FDA did not approve piracetam (although I do not remember for other racetams), in Europe it is a prescription drug, and in the former CIS it is something that can be bought in any pharmacy (but bureaucrats and other stupid devils want to fix it).
I tried different racetams, on the effect, of all, I can single out piracetam and phenylpiracetam (phenotropil ). Phenotropil has the same effects as piracetam, but they are brighter, without increasing the dosage. The effects themselves, in my case, are an increase in motivation to do something, as well as an increase in the speed of work. For example, I drank Phenotropil before boxing training, which helped me with reaction and suppression of fatigue. There is evidence that it helps with memory and concentration, but in my case it was not enough.
In terms of toxicity, piracetam does not pose any threat even in very high doses. About phenotropil toxicity is also low, but in high doses there is insomnia and other effects opposite to the calm state of a person 🙂 Also racetams are not addictive.
Phenibut. In my practice, this drug is more interesting than racetams. Unlike racetams, it does not "speed up", but makes a person more judicious and thoughtful in relation to those skills and knowledge that a person has already learned. This effect is achieved through a combined action on the inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors GABA and dopamine receptors.
For example, I can say for sure that foreign languages are not my specialty, but taking Phenibut, when talking to foreigners, you remember some words that you heard somewhere in movies, songs and do not worry that they will not understand you. Also under this drug it is much easier to get acquainted and communicate with new people and find some arguments in discussions. Maybe for some people it will be a great way to get out of their comfort zone and protect themselves from panic attacks 🙂
About toxicity, there is data that phenibut causes damage to the liver in large doses. However, these data were taken from drug addicts who took it 20 grams(!!!) a day. Personally, I do not recommend taking long doses of more than 800 mg. Up to this value no harm by me (I have the same🙂) has not been detected by laboratory, and with doses higher than that I have not tested. The data on addiction is conflicting. I daresay that in high doses it causes some kind of addiction similar to alcohol, but I haven't observed anything like that.
Hormones. I think I'm the first on the vastness of our internets to state that hormones are great nootropics 🙂 Let me explain what hormones we are talking about. First of all it is growth hormone. If you read western studies you will find the same thoughts. I will briefly describe the main points.
Growth hormone accelerates metabolism in many tissues, both independently and through intermediary molecules (insulin-like growth factor). I.e. under its influence new cells are created, including different neurons. I.e. growth hormone accelerates neurogenesis. Everyone who is over 30 years old realizes that they are no longer as active and smart as they were in their 20s 🙂 This can be partly explained just by the drop in the peaks of this hormone. Moreover, in some people due to various factors (flu, covid, measles, head injuries) the secretion of growth hormone is cut off altogether, which leads to depression and other problems...
Also I will reveal a secret, in the West, in the states, wealthy people practice taking both growth hormone itself and peptides that stimulate the release of this hormone.
The next hormone is oxytocin. It is also a nootropic, but its action is aimed at the formation of social contacts. The effects are different in men and women. In guys it causes attachment to girls and sexual desire, but also aggression to other men, potential rivals in the fight for the girl🙂 By the way, guys who don't want a family and constantly change sex partners may have mutations in the oxytocin gene. In girls, oxytocin first causes openness to new acquaintances, then attachment to the guy, then labor, then attachment to offspring 😁
And testosterone. I will not write about it, there is a lot of information about it on pubmed, how it changes behavior. In a nutshell, testosterone also increases motivation and efficiency of work performance, both physical and mental.
I do not recommend taking hormones. They are potent drugs that are strictly necessary when indicated!
Now about the harm. I have already written once about accelerated metabolism and shortened life expectancy. The thing is that nootropics accelerate metabolism in the brain, i.e. possibly accelerate neurogenesis, thereby depleting the resource of stem cells of the hippocampus.... Yes, yes, that's where neurogenesis takes place as far as science knows... There were experiments (I don't remember if it was humans or animals) that were given memantine (another nootropic that I didn't include in my ranking), and here's the paradox, at first these study subjects did get smarter in a number of tests, but after reaching the peak of their abilities there was a sharp dip in the graph, which probably indicates that the stem cells, the precursors of the neurons of the central nervous system, have run out of them 🙂
In simple words, you cannot get smarter indefinitely, your brain like your computer has limited resources. However, during your life these resources can be used correctly, for their intended purpose, by comprehending different knowledge and skills. And in your old age, you can use it all in peace. 😉
My colleague talks about neurogenesis in detail in the video below, all medical and biologists are highly advised to watch it:
