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There is a lot of evidence supporting the use of Nootropics and other related supplements. Unfortunately, due to many of the issues brought up in the article, s

There is a lot of evidence supporting the use of Nootropics and other related supplements. Unfortunately, due to many of the issues brought up in the article, such as the inability to patent any of these substances, there is not a lot of direct research studying improving cognitive ability from a normal state. That being said, there is plenty of research on these substances, but most of the research is related to studying Alzheimer's and other Neurodegenerative diseases. They look at improving people who are already in decline, not improving people who are at a baseline or normal state and attempting to increase brain power. The users of Nootropics have to extrapolate their results based on those studies.

strlen 14y ago
I've seen several studies related to use of Piracetam in children with Down Syndrome as well, leading to a statistically significant IQ improvement. Problem is that I don't believe intelligence always works this way, e.g., if having less of Y causes lower than average IQ, it doesn't imply that having more of Y will raise IQ in subjects with average/above-average IQ.
- charlieflowers 14y ago
  If you have the time, some links would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to see those studies.
  - strlen 14y ago
    Not specifically about Down Syndrome, but here is one study with children with IQ below 75: http://books.google.com/books?id=bNfuX26mSsAC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=piracetam+iq+of+75&source=bl&ots=WjTtCTDyTU&sig=c8pccyBdQ_JV4hsukPr8bl83PNo&hl=en#v=onepage&q=piracetam%20iq%20of%2075&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=bNfuX26mSsAC&pg=PA151&#... Note, however, that an IQ below 75 falls in the bottom 5% of cognitive ability. I highly doubt that it's possible to infer impact of these drugs on individuals in the upper 5% of cognitive ability (exactly the folks that are the most interest in boosting their intelligence to stay competitive -- software engineers, medical/graduate students, etc...) from these studies.
    - strlen 14y ago
      Quick clarification: I am not claiming that Piracetam can't have any effects in healthy, mildly-to-moderately gifted individuals, it's just that I am not certain you can extrapolate from studies of Piracetam use with impaired individuals. Finally there could be other benefits to Piracetam use (reduced anxiety, better memory, better focus, etc..) even if there's no "boost" to performance IQ. I just don't (yet?) see conclusive evidence of this.

strlen 14y ago

I've seen several studies related to use of Piracetam in children with Down Syndrome as well, leading to a statistically significant IQ improvement. Problem is that I don't believe intelligence always works this way, e.g., if having less of Y causes lower than average IQ, it doesn't imply that having more of Y will raise IQ in subjects with average/above-average IQ.

charlieflowers 14y ago
If you have the time, some links would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to see those studies.
- strlen 14y ago
  Not specifically about Down Syndrome, but here is one study with children with IQ below 75: http://books.google.com/books?id=bNfuX26mSsAC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=piracetam+iq+of+75&source=bl&ots=WjTtCTDyTU&sig=c8pccyBdQ_JV4hsukPr8bl83PNo&hl=en#v=onepage&q=piracetam%20iq%20of%2075&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=bNfuX26mSsAC&pg=PA151&#... Note, however, that an IQ below 75 falls in the bottom 5% of cognitive ability. I highly doubt that it's possible to infer impact of these drugs on individuals in the upper 5% of cognitive ability (exactly the folks that are the most interest in boosting their intelligence to stay competitive -- software engineers, medical/graduate students, etc...) from these studies.
  - strlen 14y ago
    Quick clarification: I am not claiming that Piracetam can't have any effects in healthy, mildly-to-moderately gifted individuals, it's just that I am not certain you can extrapolate from studies of Piracetam use with impaired individuals. Finally there could be other benefits to Piracetam use (reduced anxiety, better memory, better focus, etc..) even if there's no "boost" to performance IQ. I just don't (yet?) see conclusive evidence of this.