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nootropics, brains, and moods
Posted by
nootrope
,
06 January 2008
·
944 views
I'm going to return here to the topic of nootropics. The problem with a regular blog about life extension is that it's hard to link the specific things one's doing with how long one's going to live. Sometimes the advice spins around in circles. 10 years ago as a vegetarian I was concerned about getting enough iron from my diet. So I was making sure to drink orange juice when I ate a meal with spinach, to increase the absorption of iron. Now the studies show too much iron in the diet may be bad, especially for men. 20 years ago we were warned that we should mix protein sources to obtain complete proteins. Later I heard it wasn't so important that this be done at one meal.
Anyway, back to nootropics. I'm not interested here in approaching the dramatic possibilities imagined in science fiction. Just in how best I can use what brains I have.
In my specific case I have to think about not just cognitive improvement, but also management of my mood disorder / temporal lobe epilepsy, which of course doesn't apply all-round; and in general one's mileage varies when it comes to brains.
A general speculation: I wonder whether the emphasis on tweaking neurotransmitters in depression and in nootropics may be over-hyped. When I look at the nootropics out there I'm not so interested in getting a quick rush of clear thinking. I'm interested in postponing age-related decline and I'm interested in changes I can make that will be slow and steady. There seems to be a lot more than neurotransmitters (and ion channels) at play: the health of individual neurons, neural plasticity, mylenization, what the mitochondria are doing, etc.
The nootropic I've had the best success with so far is, as I wrote in my introduction, ashwagandha. One thing I notice is that I often have unbidden sense-memories of places I've been to. I'll think about a time in my life and I'll have a very vivid sense of what the streets and alleys were like, the stores in the town, the buildings where I worked. This enhanced memory doesn't seem especially useful, although maybe if I were writing a novel it would be. But it does feel good in a way--I feel I haven't lost those experiences.
I should probably try bacopa too, as I've responded so well to one Ayurvedic remedy. I'm a little wary of getting negative side-effects if I try rhodiola though.
For about 20 years I took lithium for the mood disorder. Ironically some people promote it as a nootropic, though in lower dosages. It's supposed to protect neurons in some circumstances. Interestingly, a recent study on roundworms showed that the substance could dramatically extend lifespan. So maybe without even thinking about it in those terms, I've had my life extended. Although those 20 years taking lithium could have caused or exacerbated a mild seizure disorder.
As far as preventing age-related decline, particularly Alzheimer's disease, the remedies I've heard of include: blueberries, walnuts, turmeric/circumin, green and black tea, and lion's mane mushrooms. The studies I've seen haven't backed up ginkgo so much for this.
Anyway, back to nootropics. I'm not interested here in approaching the dramatic possibilities imagined in science fiction. Just in how best I can use what brains I have.
In my specific case I have to think about not just cognitive improvement, but also management of my mood disorder / temporal lobe epilepsy, which of course doesn't apply all-round; and in general one's mileage varies when it comes to brains.
A general speculation: I wonder whether the emphasis on tweaking neurotransmitters in depression and in nootropics may be over-hyped. When I look at the nootropics out there I'm not so interested in getting a quick rush of clear thinking. I'm interested in postponing age-related decline and I'm interested in changes I can make that will be slow and steady. There seems to be a lot more than neurotransmitters (and ion channels) at play: the health of individual neurons, neural plasticity, mylenization, what the mitochondria are doing, etc.
The nootropic I've had the best success with so far is, as I wrote in my introduction, ashwagandha. One thing I notice is that I often have unbidden sense-memories of places I've been to. I'll think about a time in my life and I'll have a very vivid sense of what the streets and alleys were like, the stores in the town, the buildings where I worked. This enhanced memory doesn't seem especially useful, although maybe if I were writing a novel it would be. But it does feel good in a way--I feel I haven't lost those experiences.
I should probably try bacopa too, as I've responded so well to one Ayurvedic remedy. I'm a little wary of getting negative side-effects if I try rhodiola though.
For about 20 years I took lithium for the mood disorder. Ironically some people promote it as a nootropic, though in lower dosages. It's supposed to protect neurons in some circumstances. Interestingly, a recent study on roundworms showed that the substance could dramatically extend lifespan. So maybe without even thinking about it in those terms, I've had my life extended. Although those 20 years taking lithium could have caused or exacerbated a mild seizure disorder.
As far as preventing age-related decline, particularly Alzheimer's disease, the remedies I've heard of include: blueberries, walnuts, turmeric/circumin, green and black tea, and lion's mane mushrooms. The studies I've seen haven't backed up ginkgo so much for this.
