Nootropic or Not? Brain-Booster Business Raises Concerns

Supplements that promise to sharpen memory, focus and other brain functions are prompting questions about safety.

 Do Memory Enhancing Drugs Work?

Are memory enhancement drugs really smart drugs? Do they really improve memory and focus?

 Do Nootropics Actually Work? I Took a Bunch of Magic Brain Pills to Find Out

Swallow a pill and become a better you? Nootropics sound too good to be true. So we sent one staffer to investigate.

 How biohackers are trying to upgrade their brains, their bodies — and human nature

9 questions about biohacking you were too embarrassed to ask.

 Mind-bending drugs and devices: can they make us smarter?

Demand for drugs and devices that can enhance brain functions such as memory, creativity, attention and intelligence, is on the rise. But could the long-term side-effects outweigh the benefits of being “smarter”?

 Nootropics, or ‘Smart Drugs,’ Are Gaining Popularity. But Should You Take Them?

The idea that a pill can supersize human intelligence is decidedly science fiction. But plenty of real-world researchers and drug-makers are working to develop nootropics: pills, supplements and other substances designed to improve various aspects of cognition.

 One Day There May Be a Drug to Turbocharge the Brain. Who Should Get It?

What would happen if Dr. Abraham found her dream solution and invented a pill to raise Klotho levels in the brain? Perhaps people would respond like mice, gaining protection against disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also possible that healthy people would respond to such a pill the way healthy mice respond to extra Klotho — their minds would be enhanced. For Dr. Juengst, the ethics of such a drug would be tricky to sort out. “Enhancement is not inherently evil,” he said. “We’d all have to give up coffee if it was.”

 People Tell Us About Using ‘Smart Drugs’ to Max out Their Productivity

Nootropics, or substances used to enhance cognitive functions like memory, creativity or focus, are an age-old practice in India. Herbs like bacopa and ashwagandha have been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to boost cognitive function for centuries. Right now, though, synthetic nootropics are having a moment the world over.

 The all-too-understandable urge to buy a better brain

Another wave of nootropic supplements is hitting the market, promising to make us smarter, more focused, more relaxed, more in control.

 The Majority Of People Are Fine With Brain Doping, As Long As You Don't Call It That

From smart drugs to over-the-counter nootropics, popping pills to boost brain power has become a billion-dollar business. After all, in our increasingly distracted, aging, and sleep-deprived world, anything that promises better concentration, alertness, and memory is more than tempting – for some it might feel like a necessity.

Brain Gain

The underground world of "neuroenhancing" drugs.

Are You a Cheater If You're Using Smart Drugs to Get Ahead?

Universities and other organizations are now considering the ethics of using nootropics and other "smart drugs."

Brain Hackers Seeking Peak Performance Use Risky Chemical Cocktails

“Smart drugs” are not clinically proven and could be dangerous.

Brain-Enhancing 'Smart Drugs' Are Going Commercial

Over the past year, Facebook users may have done a double take on seeing ads for Alleradd, a cognitive enhancement pill that sounds a lot like the prescription drug Adderall.

Do Brain Enhancement Drugs Make You More Creative?

I took some to find out.

Generation Adderall

Like many of my friends, I spent years using prescription stimulants to get through school and start my career. Then I tried to get off them.

I Tested the Internet's Five Favourite Nootropics

Will Aniracetam, Oxiracetam, Huperzine A, Modafinil, and something called "Lion's Mane" improve my IQ?

Nootropic Brain Drugs Rise in Popularity for Today’s Cutthroat Corporate Climbers

Excess is out, efficiency is in. Welcome to the world of nootropics.

Nootropics and Brain-Hacking: Hype Versus Reality

"Smart" pills are not actually a thing. "Slightly better at concentrating" pills might be.

Nootropics Aren’t Just For Tech Millionaires

Nootropics, more colloquially known as “smart drugs,” are in the zeitgeist. Hollywood productions like Limitless and Lucy to a CNN profile of a quirky tech millionaire spending $300,000 to hack his own body with research chemicals have certainly raised the profile of nootropics in the mainstream.

Nootropics Review – Brain Enhancing Smart Drug Supplements?

Although nootropics are incredibly effective in regards to enhancing the brain’s cognitive abilities, they are not considered to be complete miracle workers, and there are still other things that individuals must do in order to make nootropics work as efficiently as possible.

Put down the smart drugs – cognitive enhancement is ethically risky business

Cognitive performance enhancers promise to deliver a better version of ourselves: smarter, more alert and more mentally agile. But what if such enhancement was no longer a personal choice but a socially and legally enforced responsibility?

Silicon Valley’s Eating Up Super Ritalin. I Got the Best of It.

The promise? They’ll increase concentration, memory, attention span, combat sleep fatigue, and—in some cases—flat out change the way our brains work. Not in a fantastical sense, like in the way the miracle pill in the film Limitless allows Bradley Cooper’s character to achieve riches and glory.

The Bad News About Nootropics and Smart Drugs

Of the many thousands of people who have posted online their experiences with Nootropics, the vast majority are overwhelmingly positive. People report feeling amazing and are significantly more productive. However, there are a few negatives you should be aware of before dabbling with the seductive world of smart drugs.

The Brain Bro

Forget Adderall. Forget Provigil. Eric Matzner says his nootropics will make your brain sharper in weeks.

The drugs do work: my life on brain enhancers

Could an unlicensed mind pill restore the energy lost to multiple sclerosis? For a novelist who feared her working life was over, it was worth the risk…

The Rise of Work-Doping

The drug modafinil was recently found to enhance cognition in healthy people. Should you take it to get a raise?

The Ritalin Generation

Two epidemics dominate the news today: the Zika virus and the rampant use of opiate drugs. To these, New York Times reporter Alan Schwarz adds another: the long-simmering plague of rambunctious American children who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and prescribed the drugs that treat it.

The Truth about Silicon Valley's New Favorite Brain Drug

Nootropic supplements are all the rage among entrepreneurs, executives, and even college students. But are they safe?

Will 'Smart Drugs' Really Make Us Smarter, or Just Ruin Our Lives?

Given the recent surge in the popularity of nootropics—non-addictive drugs that enhance learning acquisition and increase the coupling of the brain's hemispheres—a debate over the murky limits of our neurological optimization has arisen as well.

All on the mind

Prepare for drugs that will improve memory, concentration and learning.

Best Nootropics for Depression

It turns out that brain cell signaling, neurogenesis and the function of neuronal circuits may play a more important role in depression than simply the levels of serotonin or dopamine.

Why ‘smart drugs’ can make you less clever

So, if your colleague gets a better performance report than you do, is it really because of the Ritalin she takes? If your office mate has more creative ideas, is it because of Provigil? Probably not. The smart drugs currently available can boost brain performance, yet they are not as effective as glaring media reports often suggest.