Just going to post a good comment I found on reddit in regards to this thread and hyperspace personally.
The guy [Hyperspace21]
claims to be part of like some crack squad of researchers at MIT, but he sounds like some rando on the Internet who read a bunch of studies on PubMed and thinks he understands neuroscience. As a psychology major with a concentration in behavioral economics and a neuroscience minor at an ivy league school, this guy has my "bullshit" detector ringing nonstop. Research isn't performed the way he's pretending it is, there's no funding for this kind of shit, he gives the most bullshit subjective tests (carry around a red object. Now look at the piracetam; now back to me. Now back at the red object. Does it look more red? Old Spice).
Plus, no self respecting research assistant would publish findings ahead of the publication by a peer review journal on some fucking message board. I'm better than that, my advisors are better than that, and MIT is sure as fuck better than that.
Edit:
He also claims to be a medical student at MIT. MIT doesn't have a medical school (medical students from Harvard can cross-register for programs in MIT's PhD departments). He also lacks a clear understanding of 1. the cost that goes into this kind of research, 2. the legal implications of violating non-disclosure agreements that everyone signs when signing up to assist in this kind of research (he only cites legal issues when people call him out on his bullshit), 3. the nature of invasive tests such as testing the cerebral-spinal fluid (are you really going to be able to collect 100, healthy, piracetam users in the span of 1 month via survey [he didn't disclose any other recruitment method] that are willing to get on board with getting a spinal tap to measure neurotransmitter levels during a routine administration of piracetam?), and most importantly 4. the expense that goes into funding research like this. Many nootropics are discovered in the course of experimentation and clinical trials on fringe populations (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, recovering alcoholics, etc.) and their benefits are extrapolated into the healthy population. That's because the only money out there is devoted to curing or treating diseases, getting a patent, and letting insurance companies underwrite the cost of that shit so you can sell it at an insanely high price. The kind of research he's claiming that one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world is doing is just not getting done, especially in the quest to create the "ultimate nootropic" that he keeps talking about.
I could ask you the same question you know. How do I know that you are a "psychology major with a neuroscience minor at an ivy league school". You see, everyone is smart enough to make their own judgment; whether you want to believe the truth or not, that's up to you. You should remember though, you can't hide from the truth.
As for MIT; It is a PRIVATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY. If you understand what that means, then you'll clearly know that raw research data is not allowed to be released anywhere outside the institution. So the 'apparent' legal issues I am talking about can very likely happen. It also means that the university is specifically research oriented, so there would be no sense in saying that it does not fund its own research.
Now about myself; I am not a research 'assistant', I am a student (not a paid researcher). MIT has a variety of subjects, of which biological studies is one of them. After studying the entire course; MIT, requires all students to submit a 'final year project' which will determine how qualified you are and grades will be given on that basis ( along with the results from your previous years examinations). You can do this project on your own or gather up a few friends and colleagues to help you in your project. You are allowed to conduct research for the completion of your project, after you get permission from the administration board.
The research conducted does have a budget which depends on the popularity and the no. of people supporting the research. The budget can be increased if it has a lot of supporters. In our case; our current budget is 5 million dollars, which is the second highest budget in the entire campus. (Research on a cure for cancer currently has the highest budget of 12 million dollars). MIT, being a billion dollar educational institution can afford to fund these types of researches.
There is one important agreement though, that states; "All research and information conducted/collected solely belongs to MIT and cannot be used for profitable purposes. Revealing information without the consent of the administration board can result in academic probation or even expulsion." Clearly, I would have to get permission from the administration board to reveal research information, which I did and they were kind enough to let me post on this thread since they saw the potential of the research that we are doing. However, they strictly prohibited me from revealing any information related to the volunteers since that was against their privacy policy.
I did this because I saw an entire community of people that could benefit from this research.
Many people are recruited from surveys. Information is also collected through surveys and verified the same way the census is (except on a much private and smaller scale). This takes a relatively small amount of time to recruit volunteers since MIT has access to research facilities in which clinical trials are performed.
The term "Ultimate Nootropic" is only meant to be used as a reference term so people can apprehend to what we are trying to achieve; which is a substance that can cure all or most diseases at the cellular level and upward.
Subjective tests, are for determining whether piracetam is working for you or not. They are based on pure logic, which are basically derived from the conclusions of our research.
Clearly, you are used to different research practices (If you are a researcher). I'm sorry for not following the 'Scientific Method' because honestly, I don't have enough time to give out information that is purely obvious.
The research has helped a lot of people and everyone is allowed to make their own judgements. They can decide to follow or not to follow the advice given in this thread, it is completely their choice.
Your skepticism towards my team and I should not make you this aggressive (although I appreciate skepticism to some extent, since it helps fill in the gaps of information that some people may need). I hope you overcome your aggression soon and realize that there is nothing to be upset about (no one appreciates aggressiveness).
Feel free to ask any questions regarding piracetam or any other racetam.
Edited by Hyperspace21, 24 February 2012 - 06:04 PM.