The Ongoing Struggle for a Clear Mind: The Complicated Fate of Nootropics
Have you ever had to prepare for tough exams in school? Or in college? Or maybe you’ve had to work late into the night on an urgent report that was due “yesterday”? Of course you have. In those moments, you wish you could “jump-start” your brain and make it work at full capacity. That’s when a friend or neighbor might say, “Have you heard of nootropics? Have you tried Phenotropil? It might help.”
The team at Naked Science decided to dig into what nootropics are, how they work, and whether they actually help.
How Memory Works
First, let’s recall how memory functions. The mechanism isn’t fully understood yet. In fact, many scientists consider it one of the main scientific challenges of the 21st century, requiring not just biologists but also chemists, physicists, physiologists, and even mathematicians to work together. Still, we do know a few things about memory.
Most neurophysiology theorists believe that so-called long-term potentiation is at the core of the cellular mechanisms of memory and learning. Long-term potentiation is the strengthening of connections between brain cells (neurons), enhancing signal transmission between them, and this effect lasts for a long time after stimulation. The better the connection between neurons, the better the memory formation.
To improve memory, you need to stimulate the connections between neurons.
Once memories are formed, they go on their own journey: for example, when you try to remember your surroundings (anything from a room’s interior to the look of the Pskov Kremlin), the information first settles in a brain region called the hippocampus. Years later, when you try to recall these details, they’re retrieved from a completely different part of the brain. This suggests that human memory isn’t like a computer’s and isn’t stored in one place—it’s almost regenerated anew when needed. But that’s a topic for another article. For now, let’s get back to the mechanism of memory and long-term potentiation.
The Brain’s “Language” and the Role of Nootropics
People often compare the brain to a computer, but the similarity is more functional than structural. The connections between neurons, which create everything we call thinking and memory, aren’t purely electrical as many believe. Their real “language” is chemical. During communication, certain molecules (neurotransmitters) interact with other molecules (receptors), like a key fitting into a lock. The number of receptors that respond during this interaction determines the efficiency and bandwidth of the synapse (the contact point between two neurons). On a biochemical level, long-term potentiation shows up as increased ion conductivity (efficiency) in the receptors of neurotransmitters on the receiving neuron’s surface.
The real “language” of neuron communication is chemical, not electrical.
So, does this mean memory processes improve? To achieve potentiation, researchers tried using psychostimulants (like caffeine), which were known to boost neurotransmitter activity. Unfortunately, psychostimulants increase alertness and reaction time, but not memory—everything learned under their influence quickly “falls out” of your head.
That’s when a new class of substances appeared: nootropics. In 1972, Romanian chemist Corneliu Giurgea introduced the term “nootropics” into the classification of medications. Eight years earlier, Giurgea had synthesized the first drug in this group, piracetam (you might know it as Nootropil). Over the following decades, many other drugs in this family appeared, collectively called racetams. There are also about half a dozen other families within the nootropics group.
What Do Nootropics Do?
This is what interests us most—after all, we’re getting ready for exams and need to memorize a million words in just three nights. Or we need to stay alert on a tough route. Or code a million lines for a banking app because deadlines are looming.
According to Giurgea and his followers, here are the main features of nootropics:
- They improve memory and learning by enhancing synaptic transmission in the central nervous system.
- They protect against negative factors (shock, hypoxia) and the effects of certain chemicals (like sleeping pills) that impair memory.
- They stabilize cell membranes (restoring the membrane and its properties).
- They improve glucose absorption (which is critical for the brain, a relatively small but very energy-hungry organ).
- They enhance the functions of the cerebral cortex.
- They do not have significant toxicity!
In short, nootropics are a class of substances that positively affect complex psychophysiological processes. With their help, cognitive functions like perception, analysis, storage, and recall of information can be restored and, as claimed, improved. In other words, they help with the very processes involved in interacting with information.
Nootropics can positively influence complex psychophysiological processes.
Phenotropil and Other Nootropics: Do They Work?
In the 1980s, Russian specialists working on human performance in space missions (where drug requirements are much stricter than in regular medicine) developed the drug fonturacetam, which showed powerful nootropic effects. Twenty years after its invention, fonturacetam was named “Phenotropil” and began production in Russia. And what a success it was! In 2017, sales in Russia reached nearly a billion rubles—a huge achievement for such a specific drug. By then, it had been on the market for almost 10 years. Recently, the manufacturer announced that Phenotropil would return to production in 2022. So, what can we expect from it? Does it work? Who can it help, and in what situations? And what about other nootropics you can find at the pharmacy?
The editors at Naked Science looked at clinical studies of fonturacetam (over 50 studies with more than 5,000 participants) and consulted several experts. Here’s a summary of what we found:
- Nootropic drugs have different mechanisms of action, but most of them actively affect neurotransmitter systems, changing neuron activity and improving brain metabolism. Drugs like Phenotropil also increase the number of receptors involved in memory formation—NMDA (glutamate), dopamine, and n-acetylcholine receptors. As a result, brain function improves, and communication between different parts of the central nervous system and brain regions involved in cognitive functions (attention, memory, thinking, speech) becomes more efficient. Memory and attention improvements are the most noticeable effects, often appearing after the first dose of Phenotropil.
- Nootropics not only optimize neuron function but also help prevent neuron death. Phenotropil inhibits the dopamine reuptake transporter, maintaining dopamine levels, which protects against excess glutamic acid and reduces its release.
- Nootropics are also said to boost brain potential by increasing glucose utilization. This mechanism raises the energy potential of cells, speeding up metabolic processes.
Phenotropil was even included in the space “first aid kit” to help astronauts cope with significant psychological and physical stress. Its positive effects on brain function and ability to increase stress resistance allowed astronauts to work productively under extreme conditions. In today’s world, not only astronauts but many others face high stress and heavy workloads. Many people have to work nights, overtime, and under pressure, with little time for rest and sleep, yet still need to maintain high levels of concentration and thinking. Air traffic controllers, drivers, doctors, IT specialists—the list of professions with constant overload goes on. What unites them is the need to maintain high performance under significant stress.
While Phenotropil may be the most famous nootropic, there are many others, including several other families (like neuropeptides, GABA derivatives, amino acid derivatives) and substances (such as methionyl-glutamyl-histidyl-phenylalanyl-prolyl-glycyl-proline, deanola aceglumate, and acetylaminosuccinic acid) that fall under the nootropics group. However, we recommend consulting a trusted doctor before taking any of these substances.
Other Ways to Boost Your Brain
Of course, medication isn’t the only way to improve your performance. In conclusion, here are a few techniques that can also help you prepare for exams. For example, the tried-and-true method of making handwritten cheat sheets. Even if you don’t dare bring them to the exam, preparing these mini-notes after reading the material several times will help you remember it much better and organize your thoughts for your answers.
Many of you have probably heard the saying, “Students have fun from one exam session to the next,” but from a time management perspective, that’s not the best strategy. Plan your time in advance: the optimal approach is gradual, spaced-out preparation starting about a month before exams. That way, you won’t have a horror story about cramming in one night, and you’ll pass with less stress—and probably with better results.