We have already talked about “What are nootropic?” and received an answer that “Nootropics, also known as smart drugs, are cognitive enhancers. They can boost memory and help to increase focus and attention. ”
Relevance of the topic. Nootropic drugs (NP) currently occupy a significant segment of the domestic pharmaceutical market. The demand for this group of drugs in modern clinical practice is explained by several reasons. One of them is a significant increase in the frequency of neurological and psychiatric pathology, especially in the first and elderly.
Another reason is an increase in the proportion of elderly and old people in the population and, correspondingly, an increase in the significance of age-related changes in higher nervous activity and memory. NP occupy one of the leading positions in almost all schemes and methods of drug exposure in these diseases.
Given the lack of real world in the group for nootropic nuts and brain bioacculators, it’s no wonder that discussions of nootropics have become popular in online forums such as Reddit and the subreddits — most notably /r/Nootropics: “a reddit devoted to discussing nootropics and cognitive enhancers.”
At present, 110,000 subscribers (and counting), the community of / r / Nootropics has become the main thrust as an unofficial “official” source of nootropic news, information, discussions, etc., following the topic of nootropics, information, discussions, etc. – then other forums such as Bluelight and Longecity.
On the one hand, the open status of free-for-all / r / Nootropic, checks and strengthens the libertarian hacking atmosphere, which sets the bulk of the sex appeal of new products in Silicon Valley.
On the other hand, issues of accountability, accuracy and safety become uncomfortable, since bizarre judgments often replace a conscientious, placebo-controlled science in public nootropic discussions.
Compare and contrast Reddit’s nootropic criteria with those of Dr. Corneliu Giurgea, the father of nootropics, who defined nootropic bio-actions as:
- Enhancement of learning acquisition
- Resistance to impairing agents
- Facilitation of interhemispheric transfer of information
- Enhanced resistance to brain “aggressions”
- Increased tonic, cortico-subcortical “control”
- Absence of usual pharmacological effects of psychotropic drugs
I must notice that the subreddit does not recognize the distinction between true nootropics, harsh synthetics, modafinil and the Limitless craze.
While the redditors often discuss risky and / or prescription based substances, the subreddit’s guidelines remain rather conservative in their nootropic listings, like, for example, you can read in our articles:
Due to the higher standards of safe knowledge improvement, the balance between the discussion of the user / r / Nootropic and the degree of softening of the sub-object allows for fairly innovative experiments, without violating traditions and rules.
- Choline bitartrate – causes lucid dreaming
- L-Theanine – for the mind a good mood
- Mind Lab Pro – 100% Brainpower
- BrainTonus Memory and Brain Booster
However, safe and responsible use remains entirely at the discretion of the redditor.
Placebo effect and mixing variables
The best studies control it, but Reddit is particularly interested in this issue – the curse of human clinical trials: the placebo effect.
Potential health risks and side effects, self-exploration conducted with Nootropics on Reddit, is another problem associated with more positive feedback from redditor: how does a separate redditor distinguish between objective data and subjective experience? – that is, the placebo effect?
Intermix this, an event of false negative messages.
Clinical researchers monitor placebo and other factors using several methods:
- Sham “Placebo” Comparison – Unbeknownst to participants, one group receives study substance, the other receives a sham “placebo” substance, and both groups’ results are compared and contrasted to discern any significant changes over placebo.
- Double-Blind Distribution – Placebo also effects researchers, who may expect a particular result and thus subliminally alter the outcome by anticipation. A well-designed study controls for this by obscuring which participants receive placebo or not to both the participants and researchers.
- Shared Demographic – Age, gender, location, lifestyle — any number of confounding variables may apply to a particular demographic. E.g., vegans may better benefit by B12 supplementation than non-vegans.
- Sample Size – The larger the sample size, the smaller the margin of error. Observing a higher number of test subjects diminishes the risk of skewed and/or individual results.
Yet, for the nootropic community at large, a positive placebo experience for one individual does not translate to an informative, useful contribution that benefits public knowledge. There’s nothing significantly valuable to learn there.
Nootropics® on Reddit
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Not surprisingly, throughout 2017, 2018 and beyond, the latest, most modern nootropic ingredients and studies include Mind Lab Pro®, BrainTonus, NeuroHacker, Lumonol and other.
This is the significance of the nootropic forums of Reddit, BlueLight, Longecity and abroad: the free flow of information between consumers and producers and researchers, informing nootropic enthusiasts and nootropic sellers in the current state.
BrainTonus and MindLabPro has updated its formula to include the latest, most advanced cognitive accelerators, while maintaining the most popular, time-tested nootropic favorites. The result is a consistently effective formula that you always want and need to discuss.