I recently finished about 5 hours of reading on Sunifiram and this article is my conclusions. I’m still on the fence about Suni... Am I pretty well balanced here?
A new member of the Racetam family as a piperazine derivative of Piracetam.
First researched in 2000, It's a young rival of another junior member of the Racetam family, Noopept. As a cognition enhancing agent it has interesting potential for improving the learning and memory faculties of the mind.
Unlike, say Caffeine, Adderall or Piracetam, which will give you that productive energy buzz which lifehackers like myself so relish, Sunifiram is just going to give your memory and learning capacity an edge. One self experimenter said: "It is not an extreme rush of energy nor a sedative effect. I just feel a sense of clarity that I had not felt before." This makes it a potent tool for:
-
STEM professionals who work with science, technology, engineering, or math on a daily basis that puts high demands on their memories.
-
Doctors or lawyers who constantly need to study, read new papers and publications to stay skilled and competitively competent.
-
Web designers and IT laborers who need to learn new technology, systems, software and programing languages constantly to stay on the cutting edge of tech trends.
-
As a study aid for college students who need to consume and retain a lot of information.
Because of it's affects on memory, it's currently undergoing investigations as a treatment for those who suffer from Alzheimer's or other age related cognitive decline diseases.
Prior to proper human studies being conducted, it's been embraced enthusiastically by the Biohacker community. Although there is some lively debate as to whether it's potency is a double edged sword that can cause mania and mood imbalances. To quote one thorough review from a Biohacker well acquainted with Racetams:
"As far as effects, I would say the average time it takes to kick in is about the same as noopept... say 10-15 minutes. After the initial waiting period for the effects, I felt a slight change in perception and attention. I got that similar "enhanced" effect I feel from noopept, with a bit more of a rushing onset. Whereas noopept provides a gradual increase, I feel like sunifiram have a very quick onset for full effect. I was switching attention between an episode of Archer, and a conversation with my fiancé, and I felt like I was able to totally change my direction of thinking and experience whichever I was focusing on with full focus. There was a slight euphoria along with all of this as well. One of my first thoughts after the effects had kicked in was that sunifiram had accessed some hidden switch in my brain, flipped it on, and given my brain an extra jolt for mental processes."
Several reports include potential anti-depressant effects within as short as 15 minutes after consumption, to quote one Biohacker's experience:
"Is it just me or is Sunifiram one hell of an anti-depressant? Today is my 3rd day of dosing and I'll be damned if I haven't been just happy as shit lately. If placebo, I've yet to have an effect this grand from a Nootropic with the exception of maybe high doses of Piracetam"
It currently has just 9 scientific studies listed on Pubmed and, thus far, not a single clinical study done with human participants. So why would someone desiring cognitive enhancement take Sunifiram when there are far more proven smart drugs available?
-
Primarily, the outstanding potency of the stuff.
-
Secondly, price, as you can see on the infographic below, it's an excellent value for cognitive enhancement. If you try Sunifiram and find that it's comparable to other cognitive enhancers you've been on all things being equal you would choose the most economical option.
-
Thirdly, approximately 10% to 15% of people are none responders to Piracetam. It's worthwhile for them consider something like Sunifiram which may share have some of the same benefits acting through different mechanisms.
-
Finally, curiosity, lifehackers are typically hardcore novelty junkies, who have an addiction to trying new things in every area of their lifestyle. Even if our current diet and Nootropic regimen delivers us the mindset we need to be productive and happy, we are driven to tinker with it.
Potency
Like Noopept, Sunifiram is regarded as a value leader Nootropic. It is suggested as being up to 1000 time more potent than Piracetam. Piracetam dosages can be as high as several grams daily (Personally I take 3-4 grams)
Sunifiram recommended dosage is 5 Milligrams - 10 Milligrams daily
For comparison's sake also consider...
Noopept recommended dosage is 10 Milligrams - 30 Milligrams daily
The good news is that this drastically decreases the daily price of cognitive enhancement. 5 grams costs $30, which per gram seems high but a little math will show that at a higher daily dosage of 10 Milligrams the cost of Nootropic supplementation is just 6 cents daily. At that rate, the minuscule package it comes in (small enough to avoid the prying eyes of TSA employees at the airport or border security agents) will last you over a year.
However, I honestly cannot recommend this product as enthusiastically, as I do Nootropics that have more proven effects. If you are new too the world Biohacking and smart drugs, I recommend starting with something like Piracetam instead. For me, I'm going to take a wait and see stance on Sunifiram, but I'm optimistic that it will prove a useful Nootropic to those with the self control to use it at low doses. Furthermore, I like to see that the Racetams are being iterated upon and experimented with and that there is a consumer market driving that.
Mechanism of Action
The pathways which with it affects change in the brain have been the subject of several clinical studies conducted in the past couple of years.
1. It's another AMPA receptor modulating smart drug - an Ampakine - Ampakines are so effective at increasing our awareness of the world around us that DARPA has investigated them for military applications. a French study stated:
"These results suggest that DM 232 and DM 235 [Sunifiram] act as cognition enhancers through the activation of the AMPA-mediated neurotransmission system."
2. Additionally it is a Kinase activator, according to a 2013 Japanese study "Novel nootropic drug sunifiram improves cognitive deficits via CaM kinase II and protein kinase C activation in olfactory bulbectomized mice." it's source of long term potentiation and improved cognition.
3. It's also Cholinergic, animal tests show it releases acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex.
Similar to Noopept, the best way to take it is sub lingually, just take the little spoonful of white powder and dump it underneath your tongue. It's taste is pretty tame compared to the other Racetams.
Recommended Daily
Animal studies suggest tolerance is built up quickly. So maybe something not to take daily.
Cofactors:
Lot's of Biohackers report interesting effects from taking it with Noopept. Because of it's affect on acetylcholine, like other racetams, taking an it with an ACh precursor, like Alpha GPC, is a good idea.
Side Effects:
There's a handful of reports around the Internet of it causing mild insomnia and mania. No clinical data backs these reports up but if you have had problems with insomnia in the past maybe a good idea not to take it in the afternoon and it's a good idea to keep the dosage low.
Edited by jroseland, 30 September 2014 - 12:25 AM.
