Brain Function Boosters

Nutrition
122

[quote]epitome wrote:
Other things to consider are…

When you are sick, you can’t fucking study or do shit. So anything that keeps you from getting sick keeps you from a week of lousy studies and shitty retention from classes.

Manage stress. I see meditating has been mentioned here. Time management is important, and not spreading yourself out thin.

Sleep. Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride, 25 mg is what helps me sleep. Take it regular and it’s less effective from my experience on it. Melatonin? I take it here and there. Not sure about it’s safety. ZMA before bed? Cheap, so I do it. At the least, it’s an inexpensive placebo effect.

Can’t be forgetting basics like the above.

One BIG thing that helps you with life, is realizing that others think what you think of them WAY mroe than they think of you.

Like, before you go to bed, after a party and you lie down on a pillow, you go and think of what others thought of you. And they do the same.

Same with, I’m picking up a chick, and she tells me, you’re weird. Now, why the fuck is she talking with me if I’m a weirdo? Ain’t the case that I am.

It’s more a matter that she’s trying to impress me by calling me a weirdo. She wants to make me think that she is an authority on what is and isn’t weird, as well as that she isn’t wierd herself. Thus, she is seeking validation from me. Twisted, isn’t it?

Same token, you walk down the street and a guy makes hard eye contact with you like he’s a tough guy. Fucking ignore it. Guy is more concerned with what you think of him, as “macho”. You not giving a fuck says wonders about your self esteem and not letting this petty shit bother you.

People live thier lives seeking validation in these twisted ways, and when you see that this is what we do, a HUGE motivator for us is what do others think of me, I want to be thought well of. So much so, that a guy won’t fuck a chick his friends rag on, but she turns him on. It’s a primary motivator in life, and realizing it for something we all engage in and therefore pointless, as something you and I are prone to, also, you can stop this shit and not get all fuddled in your head, or have a racing and unrelaxed mind, and your happiness can go up and your stress down. Helps do better in school and enjoy life.

And in that example, where the guys buddies rag on the girl he wants to fuck? Same token, there. Making it seem like they fuck hotter women and to put you down to put themselves up in your eyes. Twisted.

BTW, Anyone have any opinions on L-Theanine? Green Tea? On the Blueberry studies linked above?

epitome.[/quote]

       Interesting post bro, I can relate as well to these issues...Not fun having to think about that stuff, as bushy said, it's hard but try to just Not give a f...

       We as humans have done more to hurt mother earth and ourselves than any other creature on the planet..and that's coming from men predominantly...

         Men do some fucked up shit to other people in the name of religion and other crap...It's too bad the ego of man seems to easily justify these things to the existance of being such a "superior" being...

                 Sad.
            anyway, interesting read buddy,
                   ToneBone
123

Our high horse friend does have a good point that i think hasnt been discussed properly. That is that the ability of your brain to function is based on how you treat it. In some ways ensureing your brain is functioning correctly might have more with what you remove from your life then what you add in. Its pretty pointless spending all this money on powders just to blast your mind with meth 24/7.

This is the area i function the worse in. Im impulsive, reckless, and get caught up in the moment.

So i dunno. Im not preaching for anyone to change. Just suggesting if its important to you eliminating detrimental behaviour would be of value. Something to consider given the vast amounts of things out there that can take a toll on your mind.

125

[quote]InTheZone wrote:
For your info tanazaki or whatever the hell, I have been doing great with the supps that I’ve been taking thanks to guys posting here…According to you I shouldn’t be able to tie my shoes let alone make any progress cognitively…what a joke…[/quote]

How do you know what effect, if any, the pills are having? All of your data is anecdotal and self-reported.

While you can probably tie your shoes, I notice that you cannot write a sentence. Rather than use periods, you just use ellipsis after ellipsis.

If it were a lecture exam in a medical school gross anatomy class, I would probably be impressed by that score. A class at night school/community college is not very impressive to me, I am afraid. I like how you think “neurons” is some sort of “fancy talk”.

Could you explain which parts of my post were “way off track”?

Who are the real smart people? Certainly not some pothead having a midlife crisis who thinks some night school is going to give him a new lease on life.

I see that you admire the cut of my jib. Thank you.

I must have hit pretty close to the mark to get you all riled up like that, huh?

126

[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
No one is suggesting that, but our ‘preacher’ friend just blasted in with “You’ve messed up your brain for good, cos you were a bad boy”. Which is bollocks as well as rude.[/quote]

How was it false?

I am honestly surprised by the reaction my first post received. As a thought experiment, let’s say he was a longtime smoker who was now looking for a pill to restore his respiratory function. Would informing him that no such pill exists similarly be “high horse”, “bollocks”, or “rude”?

127

Tanizaki - there is nothing worse than a troll on a high horse, acting like he knows it all. I’ve seen your pattern in every post you’ve made on this site…you come into threads with smart ass one-liner remarks as if they are the facts.

This thread is too useful and positive a discussion to degenerate into a flame war.

Contribute something meaningful, instead of stabbing at people with your self-righteous blather, or say nothing at all. I want to see page after page of stimulating discussion here, not page after page of bickering and personal insults.

If you do want a flame war, take it somewhere else.

129

[quote]Tanizaki wrote:
How was it false?

I am honestly surprised by the reaction my first post received. As a thought experiment, let’s say he was a longtime smoker who was now looking for a pill to restore his respiratory function. Would informing him that no such pill exists similarly be “high horse”, “bollocks”, or “rude”?[/quote]

That is a bunk analogy. The lungs and brain are completely different types of systems, with different kinds of cells. The brain is a dynamic, highly adaptive, complex organ with many functions - coordinating bodily systems, movement, perception, emotion, abstract thought, creative thought, and so forth.

Obvously you are not familiar with the term ‘neuroplasticity’. The adult brain is not “hard-wired” with fixed and immutable neuronal circuits. The brain has an ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. It is a neural network, and can reorganize its circuits to adapt to new information or experience.

[i]"Brain reorganization takes place by mechanisms such as “axonal sprouting” in which undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect neurons whose links were injured or severed. Undamaged axons can also sprout nerve endings and connect with other undamaged nerve cells, forming new neural pathways to accomplish a needed function.

For example, if one hemisphere of the brain is damaged, the intact hemisphere may take over some of its functions. The brain compensates for damage in effect by reorganizing and forming new connections between intact neurons. In order to reconnect, the neurons need to be stimulated through activity."[/i]

Furthermore, the brain is capable of neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells. Where is your supporting evidence to say that adult brain cells die quickly?

The lungs, on the other hand, are a single-function organ - to collect oxygen and disperse it into the bloodstream. They are not a network that can reorganize itself to compensate for damage. Lung cells cannot regenerate naturally, either. The only thing that can regenerate lung cells is via stem cell transplantation.

So, in other words Sherlock, you are wrong. Sorry to rain on your parade, but this shows that you are not one of the intelligentsia.

130

[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Respiratory function and cognitive function are two VERY different things. Cognitive function may be influenced positively or negatively by a myriad of different things. Saying that there is no pill that will improve cognitive function, when there are clearly SEVERAL different chemicals that have been shown to do this very thing, is the “bollocks” part of your post.[/quote]
They are obviously different. That is why they are not the same. However, in both cases, the damage to both systems are, for the most part, nigh irreparable. The vast majority of the neurons that he lost simply aren’t going to come back. IF you can point to a peer-reviewed study that shows a drug or chemical that grows or repairs neurons in middle-aged people, I would be happy to read about it.

You have knocked down a straw man. I never said no pill will enhance cognitive function. However, I am aware of no pill that restores or grows neurons. As I have invited, please inform me of peer-reviewed evidence to the contrary.

I informed him that no magic pill exists.

[quote]The overall tone of your post was that of innate superiority, especially in the field of cognitive enhancement. Unfortunately it appears that you appreciate very little of the topic to which you profess to know so much. This would generall y be considered to be the “highorse” aspect of your original post.
[/quote]

Actually, I thought my tone was disdain for a chump who treated his brain like crap and now wants a quick fix. I am glad that I stayed drug-free and studied hard so that I got all my school done in my 20s. I’m never going to be that sad old fart in a night school class.

131

[quote]JohnnyBlaze wrote:
That is a bunk analogy. The lungs and brain are completely different types of systems, with different kinds of cells. The brain is a dynamic, highly adaptive, complex organ with many functions - coordinating bodily systems, movement, perception, emotion, abstract thought, creative thought, and so forth.[/quote]
I think I confuse yours because of the abundance of air in both your lungs and cranium.

Reread my first post again, brain surgeon. I never said anything about anyone being hard-wired.

That having been said, if you were familiar with neuroplasticity, you would know that it has only been observed in the hippocampi and the olfactory area of the brain. You might have learned that if you had sources above medterms.com

Eat any good books lately?

You may wish to review, among others:
Adult neuron survival strategies - slamming on the brakes. SC Benn and CJ Woolf. (2004)

A Role for HSP27 in Sensory Neuron Survival. Lewis, Mannion, et al. (1999)

What is the functional role of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus? Wiscott, Rasch, et al. (2004) (this one has some particularly good passages summarizing neurogenetic research in general.

Now, not all of this might be available free online. You might actually have to go to a library.

Please see above regarding the limited nature of neurogenesis. The brain and lungs have very limited reparative abilities, and the brain’s have only been observed in two areas, as I have already named.

Mostly, I have disdain for the man, which was the root of my analogy. In both cases, the damage was self-inflicted, so I don’t feel sorry for the “victim” in either case. That’s the other part of the analogy.

Lastly, calling me “Sherlock” doesn’t work because he was a detective, not a doctor or even a scientist. You should have tried calling me something like “Quincy” or “Dr. Cliff Huxtable”. Do you like Coke, Kodak film, and Jell-O pudding pops?

132

I never fully understood why people make fun of people that decide to attend school again at an age older than in their 20’s. I mean, they’re getting an education and as long as they’re doing well, more power to them. I haven’t been in that position, but I’m guessing it’s more difficult due to the learning curve being much steeper than for a young person.

By the way, I may be wrong, but I didn’t think anybody said about regenerating neurons with these supplements, only enhancing cognitive function.

133

[quote]Tanizaki wrote:
JohnnyBlaze wrote:
That is a bunk analogy. The lungs and brain are completely different types of systems, with different kinds of cells. The brain is a dynamic, highly adaptive, complex organ with many functions - coordinating bodily systems, movement, perception, emotion, abstract thought, creative thought, and so forth.
I think I confuse yours because of the abundance of air in both your lungs and cranium.

Obvously you are not familiar with the term ‘neuroplasticity’. The adult brain is not “hard-wired” with fixed and immutable neuronal circuits. The brain has an ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. It is a neural network, and can reorganize its circuits to adapt to new information or experience.
Reread my first post again, brain surgeon. I never said anything about anyone being hard-wired.

That having been said, if you were familiar with neuroplasticity, you would know that it has only been observed in the hippocampi and the olfactory area of the brain. You might have learned that if you had sources above medterms.com

Eat any good books lately?

Furthermore, the brain is capable of neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells. Where is your supporting evidence to say that adult brain cells die quickly?
You may wish to review, among others:
Adult neuron survival strategies - slamming on the brakes. SC Benn and CJ Woolf. (2004)

A Role for HSP27 in Sensory Neuron Survival. Lewis, Mannion, et al. (1999)

What is the functional role of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus? Wiscott, Rasch, et al. (2004) (this one has some particularly good passages summarizing neurogenetic research in general.

Now, not all of this might be available free online. You might actually have to go to a library.

The lungs, on the other hand, are a single-function organ - to collect oxygen and disperse it into the bloodstream. They are not a network that can reorganize itself to compensate for damage. Lung cells cannot regenerate naturally, either. The only thing that can regenerate lung cells is via stem cell transplantation.

Please see above regarding the limited nature of neurogenesis. The brain and lungs have very limited reparative abilities, and the brain’s have only been observed in two areas, as I have already named.

Mostly, I have disdain for the man, which was the root of my analogy. In both cases, the damage was self-inflicted, so I don’t feel sorry for the “victim” in either case. That’s the other part of the analogy.

Lastly, calling me “Sherlock” doesn’t work because he was a detective, not a doctor or even a scientist. You should have tried calling me something like “Quincy” or “Dr. Cliff Huxtable”. Do you like Coke, Kodak film, and Jell-O pudding pops?[/quote]

          Wow, I guess you have gotten "riled up" now too, haven't you? Look, I'm not the guy you are portraying me to be...I used to smoke pot in my younger years and infrequently throughout my middle 30's. I quit altogether, many years ago. I don't think I destroyed my brain the way you are portraying it. I was very smart as a teenager and had calculus, honors chem, and other "decent" classes. My father was very smart, PhD elec engineering, but as a whole was rather detached and unemotional and I went through some rought times with him basicly trashing my self esteem and other personal reasons. So, that isn't an excuse, but it had an effect on me to doubt myself and use drugs,(marijuanna),among other things to feel better about myself. One of the other things I did to feel better mentally about myself was powerlifting and weightlifting in general for it's discipline and real world results on the body physically.

         After being in the military, and a stint as a nightclub bouncer, I began learning a trade, auto refinishing, I excelled and made good money for a young person. Now I have a beautiful wife and daughter, and didn't want the chemicals from work coming home and being around a young child, so I am taking classes at Ohlone College, which yes, is a JC. So what, it's not a "night school", it's actually got a reputation for having one of the best/hardest anatomy programs in Northern California. So for you to act like it's a walk in the park is just immature on your part. No I don't have the liberty at this point in my life of going to a university and trying to get a masters etc. I need to get back in the job force to help my family as soon as possible, and that's why I chose to do radiologic technology, which is a fairly quick turnaround for the money. The fact is that when you're older it's already harder to learn at the pace of a younger person as it is, and I would be looking for any help from nutrients or vitamins I could get regardless of smoking some pot back in the day.

         It seems that you are enjoying the verbal sparring going on, while no one else is. This thread is for people with an open mind about these topics, and you obviously have an educated mind but aren't open to things "outside the box" of what you've been taught in your fancy expensive college. That's ok, you must impress many around you with your intellect. But why don't you take yourself somewhere else if this doesn't do anything for you besides a sense of "well, I showed him what a loser in society he is". 

             You tried to make it sound like I really fucked myself up, and I didn't, I just told the truth about some past silly habits, I wasn't on heroin or an alcoholic, fuckface.    Get yourself a healthy hobby instead of putting down people you know nothing about dickhead.
                   ToneBone
134

[quote]Tanizaki wrote:

You made some poor choices. What a bad deal. All you can do now is do the best you can with what you have. No pill is doing to do what you seek.[/quote]

Isn’t the whole point of this thread to find ways to do the best a person can with what they have? Whether rich or poor in any respect, acquisitiveness is still fundamental to the human character.

135

[quote]etaco wrote:
Tanizaki wrote:

You made some poor choices. What a bad deal. All you can do now is do the best you can with what you have. No pill is doing to do what you seek.

Isn’t the whole point of this thread to find ways to do the best a person can with what they have? Whether rich or poor in any respect, acquisitiveness is still fundamental to the human character.[/quote]

           Thanks etaco, that's what this IS all about, people trying to add something to the topic, in hopes of helping the op, or offer debate, not to be negative towards any person participating in the discussions. It's too easy to judge someone by what they might write on an internet forum, where they might be inclined to write in a way that may be percieved as less than serious or intelligent at that moment. I've posted some things which could easily be percieved that way, but that doesn't define my character in reality to necessarily be that way.

             You've always contributed thoughtful and helpful advice and discussion, and I appreciate that.
                  ToneBone
137

[quote]JohnnyBlaze wrote:
Brant_Drake wrote:
http://www.smart-drugs.com/smartdrugs-page.htm

Prices seem decent. Any thoughts about the “Get smart” formula?

I tried the Get Smart formula two years ago. It’s changed from their original formula, which was released a few more years back. Each capsule contains:

Vinpocetine 10mg
Centrophenoxine 250mg
Pyritinol 200mg
Picamilon 100mg
Aniracetam 200mg
Oxiracetam 50mg
Idebenone 10mg
Galantamine 300mcg
Huperzine A 100mcg

They even threw in a free bottle of Piracetam as well, which was an unexpected bonus.

It contains a good amount of centro, but the other active ingredients in small amounts. I think it’s meant to have a synergistic effect.

I found that I got a bit overstimulated on the stack and could not sleep if I took it with Piracetam, but if I took it on its own, honestly I didn’t notice much difference. Well, I have to admit that while I didn’t feel any immediate effect - I did ace a couple of tests and quizzes at university while I was on it.[/quote]
Is this FDA approved? What would happen if you took it for 6 months and then suddenly stopped? Would you go back to normal or get worse(compared to when you started)? Do you have to take it for life?

138

[quote]piramyds wrote:
JohnnyBlaze wrote:
Brant_Drake wrote:
http://www.smart-drugs.com/smartdrugs-page.htm

Prices seem decent. Any thoughts about the “Get smart” formula?

I tried the Get Smart formula two years ago. It’s changed from their original formula, which was released a few more years back. Each capsule contains:

Vinpocetine 10mg
Centrophenoxine 250mg
Pyritinol 200mg
Picamilon 100mg
Aniracetam 200mg
Oxiracetam 50mg
Idebenone 10mg
Galantamine 300mcg
Huperzine A 100mcg

They even threw in a free bottle of Piracetam as well, which was an unexpected bonus.

It contains a good amount of centro, but the other active ingredients in small amounts. I think it’s meant to have a synergistic effect.

I found that I got a bit overstimulated on the stack and could not sleep if I took it with Piracetam, but if I took it on its own, honestly I didn’t notice much difference. Well, I have to admit that while I didn’t feel any immediate effect - I did ace a couple of tests and quizzes at university while I was on it.
Is this FDA approved? What would happen if you took it for 6 months and then suddenly stopped? Would you go back to normal or get worse(compared to when you started)? Do you have to take it for life?
[/quote]

No, most certainly not. I would imagine you would just go back to square one again.

139

Tanizaki has sadly reduced the quality of this thread. I don’t want to get into semantics, so I will simply state some of the overriding faults of his posts.

  1. He is presenting research in a one-sided manner. This is commonly done if the presenter is attempting to educate less read individuals with only supportive research,and when the presenter truly does not understand the applicability of scientific research. It seems Tanizaki is doing both.

note: if you honestly do not know of the regenerative ability of neurons and other neural structures, both naturally and through artificial enhancement, I suggest a simple search in any web or academic search engine.

  1. His is being hypocritical–presenting contradicting statements to save face as the debate evolves with new ideas. This would suggest that Tanizaki is either not very academic (and a degree does not endow academia), does not understand the nuances of proper debate and discussion, or is simply attempting to keep an argument going for the sake of argument, which is certainly not productive.

  2. He uses name-calling. This is a blatant immaturity. While flame wars and name calling can be entertaining, especially in the politics forum or involving Rainjack, it does not belong in a thread discussing the legitimacy of scientific approaches to enhancing cognitive functioning. Anecdotal evidence and academic research both contribute to a discussion. Name calling provides nothing of content.

I suggest the more mature individuals involved in this original thread’s discussion keep on track and simply ignore base posts such as those of Tanikazi. He has displayed an inability to converse rationally (and sadly some of the replies have been similar) and exchange ideas. This argument with him has made no progress and I think it would save many of us stress if we continued as we were.

140

Bushy, or anyone else who has used Modafinil, have you experienced any agitation or increased susceptibility to annoyance or anger after multiple consecutive days using Modafinil? I have read anecdotal reports of this on many side-effect and drug efficacy forums, and I experience this myself, but I have not been able to discuss with this real time with anyone.

It seems to be rare, but it is serious enough to merit mentioning. I don’t feel like I can’t control my anger, and I actually don’t really get angry. I do find ideas or people to be more annoying than usual. With myself, and from what I’ve read, it is only after a multiple consecutive days of use. If I take it once or twice in a row I am fine.