Modding the Brain: An experiment in Nootropics.

Discussion in 'Other' started by laingsoft, Aug 11, 2012.

  1. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    Nootropics are a class of drug that are said to increase "cognitive function". I am going to do an experiment with three different ones, and hopefully, in the future, some others. I will be studying the effects of these drugs on short term memory.

    Piracetam is the first drug I am taking. It was synthesized in 1964 for the first time, and since then there have been a few studies that have said that it helps patients that experience narcolepsy, Seizures, and Alzheimer's. There have also been a few studies that have shown an increase in cognitive abilities. The lethal dose 50 (The dosage that kills 50% of the test group) is unusually high, higher than that of salt, so in theory, the substance should be rather inert, meaning I can't overdose, Yay! Piracetam is completely legal, although it does not have a DIN in Canada, so I must order for personal use only.

    Next up is Melatonin. Not really classified as a nootropic, melatonin helps regulate sleep cycles, and helps achieve a better sleep. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone, again, it is very safe in high doses, so again, I am safe.

    Next is Caffeine. I am not going to be taking pills, or powdered pure caffeine, as it is easy to overdose on. I'll be sticking to black tea.

    Because of the way piracetam works, I will also be taking a fish-oil pill, as apparently it can cause a Choline deficient, and apparently, that can be quite unpleasant.

    I will be testing my short term memory with http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/stm0.html

    Preliminary control.
    Results:
    Test 1: 100%(Ultra easy)
    Test 2: 100%(easy)
    Test 3: 83% (Remembered a "k" as a "c")
    Test 4: 100% (although in a different order)
    Test 5: 80% (Remembered First and last of sequence)
    Test 6: 66% (Ouch. Remembered first 5, and last 3)

    I will repeat this test each additional week after trying to nootropics in conjunction.

    My personal cocktail:
    9 mg of Melatonin each night, 1 hour before sleep
    800 mg of Piracetam each morning
    1 cup of tea.
    2 Fish oil Capsules
     
  2. bud

    bud DAT ASS

    I've tried melatonin before, and it gave me hyper realistic nightmares. Have fun! :p
     
  3. Zero

    Zero ModRetro Legend Administrator

    Keep in mind melatonin can cause you to gain weight, so I wouldn't use it for too long.

    This sounds pretty cool though, good luck!
     
  4. Mr. Hooker

    Mr. Hooker Active Member

    Final results: in a few months you might look like your avatar.
     
  5. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    Day One: Morning

    I took my three melatonin pills at 12:00 AM, fell asleep at 1:00 AM, and Woke up this morning at 10:00 AM. I slept very soundly through the night, from the state of my bedsheets, I did not toss and turn during the night. I do feel well rested, but at the same time my head does feel cloudy. I did not experience any dreams last night, this is normal for me, so not much has changed.

    I am not noticing and IMMEDIATE effects of the Piracetam and Fish oil, The tea however has unclouded my head. I will write back once I start to feel the effects of the piracetam.
     
  6. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    I still have not noticed an extreme effect of the piracetam, instead I have noticed that I feel like I am ready to think. It's a strange feeling, almost the same as drinking an extremely strong cup of coffee, except without the rapid heart beat, sweating, and jitters. I started feeling the effects of the piracetam an hour after taking the pill, and it has been 4 hours, and I am still feeling great. I will be retaking the memory test next Saturday after a week of the drug.
     
  7. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    It's been a week.

    My brain hasn't exploded, I am not having seizures.

    I am still getting the effects of the piracetam.
     
  8. Mr. Hooker

    Mr. Hooker Active Member

    Before getting the results from the test, how well do you think you will do on it?
     
  9. Zero

    Zero ModRetro Legend Administrator

    How'd this turn out?
     
  10. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    I've run out of pills for about a week now. There were no effects of withdrawl.
    When I did score my cognition, the tests came out to about the same, without any improvement.

    Cognition is a hard thing to measure, but I personally did find logic-intensive things like programming and math to be slightly easier when I took piracetam.

    VERDICT: For $40, go for it, but it doesn't do much.
     
  11. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    Shouldn't this thread have a disclaimer?
     
  12. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    Does salt have the LD50 written on the box?
     
  13. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    No, but you make ModRetro look like it's condoning drug abuse.
    That's not good.
     
  14. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    Piracetam is perfectly legal, and I'm not abusing it; that is it's intended purpose.
     
  15. Zero

    Zero ModRetro Legend Administrator

    I see no drug abuse here. Some of these aren't even drugs, and the ones that are drugs are legal.

    Chillax, it's not like he's talking about taking speed or another controlled study drug.
     
  16. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    Alright, I just thought it would be smart. If you can avoid them, drugs, especially the ones modding the brain, are bad, m'kay? You shou- did you just say chillax?
     
  17. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    OH! I forgot to update this. I actually took Piracetam for about a month. It felt alright, but it wore off quickly. In about January I started taking primaracetam daily. There is a huge difference, focusing is easier, and it takes the tired edge off.

    Now, that doesn't count the side effects of racetams.

    After a little-longer-than-short-term usage I started to notice that when I stopped taking it I would get MASSIVE headaches. I'm talking, lying on the *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing ground and holding a pillow over your eyes bad. (actually did that when I ran out. 0/10 would not recommend)
    Another thing is almost constant vision shaking. I don't know if anyone here has experienced this before, but it seemed like one of the withdrawl side effects of both racetams was lethargy, and the shakey-eye-thing. It literally feels like your vision is jumping rapidly side to side. 0/10 would not recommend.

    Anyways, final verdict. If you are a fatass like me, you need something powerful, primaracetam will work, but be warned, it tastes like licking the flax of a cow that had been eating bug-spray for the past month. Seriously, 0/10 would not recommend the flavour. It is so powerful I couldn't even get rid of it. I tried everything, capsules, taking it nasally(DO NOT DO -10000/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND, and mixing it with food. It has such a strong chemical taste, I can't describe it. It tastes like licking a chemical barrel. It sucks. Now, as far as the nootropic effects of the drug, they are there, but you'd be better off to drink a cup of coffee. It does have an effect, but it feels more strongly linked to whatever section of your brain provides logical reasoning. (I could do math and program extremely efficiently while taking it) however it seemed like my creativity and linguistic fluency were drastically hindered. I could hardly write an essay while taking it, in fact I had to actually stop for a couple days just to write properly.
     
  18. laingsoft

    laingsoft Formerly SteamDNT

    Update:

    Noopept is essentially piracetam attached to a peptide that allows it to cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively. If gives the same stimulant effects of piracetam, but the dosage is much, much lower. 800mg of piractam has the same effect as 10mg of noopept.

    Noopept also doesn't make me sleep or have nightmares and headaches like piracetam did.
     
  19. Prog

    Prog Not a Meme™ Staff Member

    Holy flax, he was right