20% of Nature readers use cognitive enhancers to improve their focus, concentration, or memory. Among those who choose to use, methylphenidate was the most popular agent: 62% of users reported taking it. Modafinil was taken by 44% of users and beta blockers by 15%. Many of the subjects were using more than 1 drug

2009-01-21: cognition-dulling drugs and cures for resentment, envy, or union-organizing may also serve to enhance workplace efficiency.
2009-05-07: it’s only a war on drugs if the drug in question makes you stupid

If I drink a cup of coffee, I (seemingly) think a bit faster. We call this tradition. If I take a modafinil I (measurably) think a bit faster. We call this cheating.

2010-04-28: And some philosophical considerations:

Cognitive enhancement takes many and diverse forms. Various methods of cognitive enhancement have implications for the near future. At the same time, these technologies raise a range of ethical issues. For example, they interact with notions of authenticity, the good life, and the role of medicine in our lives. Present and anticipated methods for cognitive enhancement also create challenges for public policy and regulation.

2015-02-19: Any progress in telling which, if any, nootropics actually work, is welcome.

The research, published in open-access Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, uses an algorithm that maps expression data onto signaling pathways. The collective pathways and their activation form a “signaling pathway cloud” — a biological fingerprint of cognitive enhancement. Drugs can then be screened and ranked based on their ability to minimize, mimic, or exaggerate pathway activation or suppression within that cloud.

2018-10-24: And what are the mechanisms?

But why should there be smart drugs? Popular metaphors speak of drugs fitting into receptors like “a key into a lock” to “flip a switch”. But why should there be a locked switch in the brain to shift from THINK WORSE to THINK BETTER? Why not just always stay on the THINK BETTER side? Wouldn’t we expect some kind of tradeoff?

Piracetam and nicotine have something in common: both activate the brain’s acetylcholine system. So do 3 of the most successful Alzheimers drugs: donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine. What is acetylcholine and why does activating it improve memory and cognition?

2018-10-30: Is it going to be big business?

Mind-expansion may soon become big business. Even though the drugs have been developed to treat disease, it will be hard to prevent their use by the healthy.

2019-10-13: Modafinil:

The overall positive effect of modafinil over placebo across all cognitive domains was small and significant (g = 0.10; 95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.15; P < 0.001). No significant differences between cognitive domains were found. Likewise, no significant moderation was found for modafinil dose (100 mg vs 200 mg) or for the populations studied (psychiatric vs nonpsychiatric).

2021-04-28: Zembrin:

The subgroup who used Zembrin reported a mean effectiveness of 6.88, which beats out modafinil to make it highest on the list. After ad hoc Bayesian adjustment, it was 6.72, second only to modafinil as the second most effective nootropic on the list. This really excites me – I’ve felt like Zembrin was special for a while, and this is the only case of a newer nootropic on the survey beating the mainstays. And it’s a really unexpected victory. The top 8 substances in the list are all either stimulants, addictive, illegal in the US, or all 3. Zembrin is none of those, and it beats them all.

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