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Physiology & Medicine / Can nootropics really make one smarter?
« on: 16/10/2010 04:52:48 »
Question for you all about nootropics, drugs that purportedly improve ones cognitive abilities. Can they really make one smarter, or are their purported effects more psychological than pharmacological?
Reason for the question ... I've recently become a fan of energy drinks after avoiding them for years. Finally broke down while in grad school. Have to say that I was quite surprised how different (seemingly better) their effects were from coffee, so I Googled the ingredients. While both coffee and energy drinks contain caffeine, energy drinks tend to include other ingredients in their "energy blends": various B-vitamins, Taurine, L-Carnitine, etc. These other, non-caffeine elements are considered by some to be nootropics.
Now, I'm quite curious and am thinking about sampling other such substances. Is it possible to get more out of the gray matter that God gave me via nootropic cocktails?
Any good/bad/indifferent experiences out there? Any good studies?
Reason for the question ... I've recently become a fan of energy drinks after avoiding them for years. Finally broke down while in grad school. Have to say that I was quite surprised how different (seemingly better) their effects were from coffee, so I Googled the ingredients. While both coffee and energy drinks contain caffeine, energy drinks tend to include other ingredients in their "energy blends": various B-vitamins, Taurine, L-Carnitine, etc. These other, non-caffeine elements are considered by some to be nootropics.
Now, I'm quite curious and am thinking about sampling other such substances. Is it possible to get more out of the gray matter that God gave me via nootropic cocktails?
Any good/bad/indifferent experiences out there? Any good studies?