Nootropic drugs... Anyone know of any good ones for memory?

[RxBoy]

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I ask this to the Neurologists out there. You guys deal with Alzheimers, alcoholic brain damage, and you guys are experts with neurological mapping/function/pharmacology.

My question... Is there any known clinically tested (and I mean real university stuff not your complimentary medicine bs trials) drugs that increase memory power from baseline? I am not an alcoholic in any sense but you can say I used to binge in my college years, and still do time to time on a free weekend. B12/Thiamine is obvious to prevent wernicke's or beriberi, but that is moreso for crazy alcoholics. Is there any drugs (Rx or Over the counters) that optimize memory function? Maybe I am just being neurotic, but I feel like I have a decreased memory threshold.

This all came about because I read this article and found it very entertaining:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootropic

 

[erg923]

The short answer to your question is is no, not from baseline anyway.

Aricept and other medicines of this ilk reduce breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (important for memory functioning) to help slow progression of the memory deficits seen in AD and a few other dementias. There is no evidence that they would be of benefit in healthy subjects and they are only marginally effective at best in AD subjects. Studies of their efficacy are mixed. Statistically significant improvements are consistently seen in studies, but this does not always translate into clinically significant improvements in these patients. Although sometimes this is the case. I think hindsight bias and the "placebo effect" might account for alot of the AD patients who rave and rave about how much it has helped them. In normal populations, having a balanced diet and appropriate nutritional helps our body to function at its optimum. A balanced diet, appropriate nutrients, and good sleep habits help us to stay alert, pay attention better, and thus serve as a "brain fuel" of sorts that allows for optimum functioning. Remember when you mom always told you to eat a good breakfast....

Second, things that result in memory problems are not necessarily "memory" problems per say. Disruption of almost any other cognitive domain (ie., sustained attention, receptive language, comprehension, etc) can result in things that manifest as a "memory" problems. Problems with sustained attention is a common culprit because it often interferes with the process of memory encoding. Binge drinking is common in the college population and there is no literature to support the notion that moderate binge drinking causes long term memory problems. In fact, it takes years and years of heavy alcohol use in order to manifest syndromes such as Korsakoff's. There are a few clinically significant cognitive deficits seen in younger alcoholics. Mostly executive functioning. However, again, this is typically long term heavy users, not occasional binge drinkers. If you truly feel you have a significant memory problems, it is much more likely that this it due to other factors such as attention, sleep issues (e.g., apnea), stress, depression, etc....... rather than alcohol use during your college days. And also keep in mind that there are normal variations of memory capacity in the normative population. You are in medical school, and statistically, you are likely to be surrounded by individuals with above average memories. If you are comparing yourself to them, this could easily lead to a skewed perspective of what is "normal" memory capacity. Maybe your memory has is simply always been average or a little below? This is NOT indicative of any disease. Just normal variation within the bell curve. If you truly have doubts about your memory, a good neuropsychological evaluation by a qualified neuropsychologist can help you figure this out. And, as I said, even if your memory scores are outside the norm for your age, there are a variety of factors that could be affecting this. Many of these potential contributors are treatable. Anxiety, stress, sleep problems, etc.

 

[RxBoy]

Wow, thanks for the great reply!

You're probably right about it being more of a psychological phenomenon. Now that I think about it, in college I was exceptional, med school: average to a little above. Maybe I just need some subconscious excuse to face the reality that my memory isn't exceptional.. easier to blame it on the ethanol than your genetics.

I remember watching an episode of house where he needs to recall information from the past, so he basically OD's on Alzheimer medication. Guess that's nothing more than your typical TV horse ****. Again thanks for taking time out to answer.

 

[189362]

Might not be exactly what you were looking for but I find that 2.5gs of pirecetam + 2gs choline citrate + 1g Acetyl-L-Carnitine does wonders for my Short-term and cognitive function/focus I usually through back that stck in 8oz. of fresh OJ. Why fresh OJ I wish I still had the article but apparently it does as much for you as a cup of coffee. If you wanted to know where I get the nootroopics in bulk for a great price I can help you out PM me.