Means That Improve Memory

2023 Author: Abraham Higgins | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 23:16

Means that improve memory

Will glycine help, what you need to know about folk remedies, and which drugs exactly work

The material is published in partnership with the Medicines for Life project, dedicated to improving patients' pharmaceutical literacy.

Several years ago, a number of publications appeared in the major Western media about whether it is ethical to take drugs that improve memory. Doctors and journalists wondered if this was a doping, the use of which, like in sports, should be banned. Such attention to the problem was explained by the fact that it was then that students en masse began to use the so-called smart drugs, usually prescribed to patients with Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit disorder, etc. In Russia, the issue of ethics is far from being: drugs traditionally given by mothers to lagging school children or who accept all the same students are simply ineffective.

Nootropics

If you ask at any Russian forum: "What to take to improve memory?" - Someone will definitely suggest glycine or piracetam. Both of these drugs belong to the group of nootropics, extremely common in the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is known that nootropics are compounds that stimulate metabolic processes in the brain. However, numerous studies have not been able to prove that, for example, the same piracetam improves memory. With regard to glycine, there has been only one small study that can be considered at least somewhat convincing, demonstrating the benefits of this drug. In the West, glycine is viewed more as a treatment for schizophrenia, although this is not a common practice.

Folk methods

Those wishing to improve memory and at the same time "not be poisoned by any chemistry" often use the extract of bilobed ginkgo, fish oil, vitamin E, ginseng, etc., etc. As usual with alternative medicine, studies that give at least some the certainty about the effectiveness of these drugs is not much. However, ginkgo biloba has been found to help with dementia (senile dementia). But studies with healthy people are less extensive and convincing. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are ineffective in improving memory in healthy older adults. Ginseng has only a small effect on cognitive performance. And vitamin E, fish oil, multivitamin complexes and many other dietary supplements have not been shown to be effective.

Smart drugs

Typically, pharmaceutical drugs to improve memory (donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine) are designed for those who get worse with age, for example, due to Alzheimer's disease. However, for some time now these funds are actively used for other purposes - they are bought by students during the session. The same thing happens with drugs for attention deficit disorder (methylphenidate) and narcolepsy (modafinil). They increase the production of various neurotransmitters - norepinephrine, acetylcholine, dopamine, etc. - which improves the transmission of signals between nerve cells.

These drugs really help improve memory for several hours, concentrate attention. However, they have two major drawbacks. Firstly, being under the influence of such means, a person can behave unnaturally, rudely towards everything that prevents him from doing the chosen business. Second, these drugs were developed for sick people. How such drugs work on young, healthy brains in the long term remains unknown.