A Kick in the Head

September 1, 2007 7:49 PM

Can I improve my brain with drugs?

Back in the 90s I remember reading about wonder drugs that could improve memory, intelligence, the ability to learn... The internet was full of stories like that.

I'm a fairly intelligent person but my brain rarely feels like it's working at its optimum. At the moment, it's in crap mode -- and it's pissing me off.

I'm getting the sleep I need, I'm eating good, stress is low, sex is often, exercise is regular, alchohol intake is moderate, no drugs, I gave up smoking years ago but the mind is as dull as a cobbler's thumb. I'm finding it hard to work, study, and I feel altogether useless. Music fails to please me, reading is uninteresting, and my imagination has gone to the dogs.

Sometimes I'm razor sharp: I can think on my feet, I'm attentive, I can crunch numbers and solve problems in the blink of an eye, I'm able to immerse myself in music and literature, I can sit at the piano and compose music I'd never thought myself capable of playing; sometimes I can almost feel my head buzzing. (Side note: Times like these, I also feel a kind of huggy warmth in my solar-plexus.)

But these periods are short lived and all too infrequent.

Most of the time, it's a different story. I find it hard to engage my head with anything; my attention fleets from one thing to the next, my wit becomes sluggish, learning becomes difficult, I never feel satisfied, I get confused by the simplest of things. It feels like I'm not entirely awake. My internal thoughts become vague, words are a chore to read. I become gormless and totally useless; incapable of thinking straight and incapable of even the faintest of creative thoughts.

I feel as though I'm losing out. I've always been like this. I know my head's got potential -- I want to tap it before it's too late. I haven't been on full burn since last Christmas! But it's not like I'm apathetic about things.

Today is typical. I'm trying to learn RealBasic. I'm interested in it. I've been following the tutorials. I'm really keen about becoming proficient in it. But, nothing seems to be seating in my brain properly. I don't feel immersed. It's as though my brain is not interested in anything. It's not like the usual rigaramole of learning -- having to work at understanding the simplest of concepts, making mistakes, forgetting... -- my head feels empty and I don't feel 'thinky' at all. Thinking hurts. It's almost like hangover head; but I haven't had a drink in a week!

So, the wonder drugs. Do such things exist? I could be so much more; if only my brain was willing. Are there really pills that will keep the light in my head on? Or is it all sci-fi? Most importantly, where can I get them and, are they legal?

(FYI I eat fish and I take my vitamins -- I also eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit)

posted by popcassady to health & fitness (31 comments total)

get your thyroid checked.
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:52 PM on September 1, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Have you ever considered lithium? Sounds to me, as an amateur psychiatrist, like you've got a pretty straightforward diagnosis of Bipolar. What you describe sounds to me like hypomania interspersed with depressive episodes. Honestly, go ask your local community psych clinic.

Either that, or drink some coffee.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:02 PM on September 1, 2007

This could be bipolar disorder or manic depression - it's hard to tell the severity of your symptoms from the description. See a doc.
posted by phrontist at 8:04 PM on September 1, 2007

Here is the DSM-IV criteria for Bipolar Disorder.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:07 PM on September 1, 2007

Check out DMAE, piracetam, and other nootropic drugs.

Personally, I've used those two. I noticed a fairly small change in my thinking when taking them regularly. It's not a big effect at all, although YMMV.

To address issues of legality, that depends on the substance in question. Most are available via mail order from Europe or through China. Since a lot of these substances are not scheduled, some of them are available over the counter as dietary supplements (ie: DMAE) Some of them are not illegal to possess, but they're illegal to sell in the USA. So, if you're ordering from abroad for personal use, you probably don't have much to worry about but your package might get seized in the mail. That never happened to me, but I've heard stories from Some Guy on the Internet.

Anyway, wikipedia has a pretty good section on nootropics. Check there, and it should get you started on the subject. There's a lot of snake oil to be purchased so be careful to research what you're putting into your body. It might only be placebo effect, but I do think DMAE gives me a burst of mental energy if I haven't taken any in a while.

--Oso
posted by Oso Mocoso at 8:11 PM on September 1, 2007

Caffeine, in small acute quantities, can improve your quantitative (as in, testable) IQ by a few points. Same with small acute amounts of alcohol (qv. the math prof who offered a single shot of vodka to students before their exams).

There was a bunch of research on ampakines and synthetic cholines but none of that ever panned out. Nor have any research on boosting other neurotransmitters.

It turns out, obviously in retrospect, that the brain relies on a very tight balance of neurotransmitters and just jacking them up across the board, or jacking up certain ones, does more harm than good.

If you want to play around the voodoo, Einstein had a higher proportion of glia cells in his brain than the average person. Glia are classically "support cells" but theres mounting evidence that they have some role in modulating neuronal firing. Glia are rather susceptible to oxidative (and microbial) stress. Eat raw fruits/vegetables or take vitamine C supplements and avoid getting brain infections.

Are you hydrated throughout the day? Even a 1 or 2 percent drop in body fluid level can produce the negative feelings you described.
posted by porpoise at 8:19 PM on September 1, 2007

if one considers nicotine a drug, i think smoking helps with concentration.
posted by brandz at 8:21 PM on September 1, 2007

Oso - your comment about "burst of mental energy" intrigues me.

Do you actually get "bursts" of mental energy? DMAE works by being available to be incorporated into cell membranes and acts kind of like cholesterol to keep the cell membranes fluid. DMAE supplements should, then, have a gradual accumulating chronic effect, rather than acute.

Then again, there's some quack theory based in studying North American First Nations people suggesting that diets rich in fish oils correlated with the amount of lasting art that culture produced. There is, of course, the confounding factor that coastal peoples likely had much more time on their hands (semi-stable settlements vs. nomadism, calories are much easier to get along coasts than on the plains, &c).

So maybe add fish and fish oils into your diet?

Also, the brain relies exclusively on glucose (ie., cane sugar or from starches). High fructose corn syrup (which is in abundance in virtually all fast-/snack-/junk-food products and especially in soft drinks) can seriously mess up glucose metabolism.
posted by porpoise at 8:27 PM on September 1, 2007

Check out DMAE, piracetam, and other nootropic drugs.

As far as the smart drugs go, and I'm not convinced they really do go that far at all, Selegiline seems to be rising to the top of the pile as the evidence builds.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:30 PM on September 1, 2007

Argh - I need to start previewing.

Nicotine is an acetylcholine receptor antagonist and has also been shown to increase quantifiable IQ by a few points; but these kinds of studies also shows that nicotine useage is correlated with decreased quantifiable IQ (but it's hard to cotnrol for socioeconomic factors as well as "nicking out"/nicotine withdrawl).

As for Seligiline... well, it's good for treating early Parkinsons because it slows down dopamine degradation so the decreased levels of dopamine has effect for longer than normal.

However, a disturbingly high percentage of Parkinsons patients on good/efficacious drugs end up with obsessive disorders or gambling addictions due to messing around with the bioavailability of dopamine.

Having more neurotransmitters around may help but the bad analogy of the day is overclocking your CPU from 2x to 3.5x and your RAM from 2X to 2.3X and letting your PCI bus stick to it's base frequency. Sure, all the individual components are faster but they're going to have problems communicating with each other and the system crashes or glitches or drops information.
posted by porpoise at 8:37 PM on September 1, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

"Do you actually get "bursts" of mental energy? DMAE works by being available to be incorporated into cell membranes and acts kind of like cholesterol to keep the cell membranes fluid. DMAE supplements should, then, have a gradual accumulating chronic effect, rather than acute."

Well ... maybe I should be clear about what I mean by "bursts of mental energy". If I start taking DMAE supplements, I tend to notice that I become more productive. It's not like a caffeine buzz, where I suddenly become more energetic. It's more like, I take the DMAE and a bit later I find myself thinking "Wow, I had a really productive day!". It's a very subtle effect, and could totally be placebo. It's really hard to tell. That's the problem with a lot of these nootropics.

Lately, I have been eating a lot more fish. I stopped taking DMAE supplements, though. So I have no basis for a comparison.
posted by Oso Mocoso at 8:53 PM on September 1, 2007

Honestly, what you describe sounds like something clinical. I don't know what (I think any kind of diagnosis here based on your minimal description is obviously premature and to be distrusted). You should consider talking to your doctor, maybe getting a referral to talk to a specialist. Some sort of modern pharmaceutical might be in order rather than gingko biloba or whatever. If you don't want to go that route, you know - do your research on stuff like smart drugs, cognitive enhancers, nootropics, and so on, look for information from both sides about anything you try, be very attentive to issues of safe doses and potential drug interactions before you start anything. Most of it seems to be reasonably safe when used judiciously and my cursory view, having looked over the research a few years ago, is that although proponents overstate the potential gains, there appear to be real benefits, some of which have been clinically verified.
posted by nanojath at 9:49 PM on September 1, 2007

To be honest, you just seem bored. What you really might need is a new challenge. Something that will really push you. For me at least, the happier and more content I am, the stupider I seem to get as there isn't that thing in the back of my head forcing myself to be better. I mean it's a bit of a catch 22, but I bet if you took up something that you had never done before, that was totally outside of your day to day life and experience, that really forced you to work hard and think in new ways, you might find your generally dullness lifted.
posted by whoaali at 10:27 PM on September 1, 2007

woah, slow down...I think people should be a little careful about suggesting someone has a serious mental illness based on a description like popcassidy's

what you describe could apply equally well to ADD (I know this because I have been diagnosed with ADD and I do experience what you described), which is not nearly so serious as bipolar and would require quite a different intervention. It could also just be that you are more sensitive than most people to changes in state that are within normal boundaries.

For myself, back in the day, dmae + piracetam enhanced my inherent hyperactiveness and made me even more difficult for people to understand/follow but did absolutely nothing for my ability to actually get things done, including learning something new. Tribulus root (taken cyclically) seems to help with that, although at the cost of making me more prone to impatience & road rage.
posted by lastobelus at 10:44 PM on September 1, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think that self diagnosis and self treatment is an extremely poor idea. Maybe it is something simple. Maybe it can be treated legally with OTC pills. Maybe it can be dealt with using dietary changes.

And maybe it cannot. Let someone who knows what they're doing figure out the diagnosis and treatment.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:47 PM on September 1, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Lecithin.
posted by wsg at 11:23 PM on September 1, 2007

To answer your question (and skirt pychological Qs which I am not qualified to hypothesize on) a useful drug which will keep you sharp and wake you up is called Modalert. I think it is illegal in the US, but not in the UK/EU. Even if it is illegal, it is easy to get from an online pharmacy. It won't make you into a brainiac, but it can keep you on your game. It is safe. Check it out.
posted by mateuslee at 12:13 AM on September 2, 2007

I would also consider what whoaali said. You might just be bored and you should consider this possibility. I feel stupid everytime I like the idea of learning something but don't actually get pleasure from the process of learning it; I throw my whole energy at the problem but my brain engages much slower, I get distracted...it's just like you describe. So for example if right now you've decided it would be a good idea to learn RealBasic, but if actually learning RealBasic isn't exactly thrilling you, maybe you're just bored.

The ADD drugs like Adderall will really help you to work through stuff and engage in tasks that otherwise would bore you. Actually, adderall and ritalin (which is what I used to take, I don't know what the kids are doing nowadays) will work wonders for your ability to engage in the tasks of learning and that's exactly why they're given out to kids with a poor attention span. This does not necessarily mean it's a good idea to take the drugs, but they are almost 100% guaranteed to work.
posted by creasy boy at 12:27 AM on September 2, 2007

A friend of mine had a prescription for Ritalin from his shrink. He was in his early 20s, and this was in the mid-90s...I don't know if shrinks still give this to adults.

He said he was able to focus on things like a laser. He felt slightly pumped up, but the main effect of the Ritalin was that he wasn't distracted by anything else when working on something. He would read entire books in one sitting. On the other hand, I knew a girl who was given Ritalin from the time she was 12 or so and quit about 10 years later, going through withdrawal symptoms that sounded exactly like the scene from Trainspotting. So if you do try it, do it for a short time and sparingly.
posted by zardoz at 12:34 AM on September 2, 2007

>>I'm getting the sleep I need,

To totally not answer your question (sorry) this sounds a lot like me. I got plenty of sleep, but still had concentration issues and things didn't seem to go into memory the way they should. Turned out to be sleep apnea, despite lacking most of the classic symptoms (I'm not male; I'm not old; I don't snore more than most people; I don't choke or gasp in my sleep, etc.).

I really think you should go see a doctor rather than looking for medications at this point. If s/he won't take you seriously, go to another doctor. It could be sleep apnea (which can be fatal) or any variety of other things.
posted by wintersweet at 12:36 AM on September 2, 2007

Look for hypoglycemia as well, but I'd definitely go to a doctor or five, and then a psychiatrist.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:34 AM on September 2, 2007

I've just started using Provigil (Modafinil) and it does give some of the effects you mentioned. It was prescribed to offset the effects of sleep apnea and I've only taken it on days when I'm really low on sleep (less than 6 hours) but I've been impressed with the effects. I'm working full time and completing my MBA and it has really kept me in the game on those hard days. Even my teammates have noticed I'm more focused and involved no and side effects that I've noticed so far. It's very easy to get from online pharmacies also. Might be worth a shot.
posted by white_devil at 6:38 AM on September 2, 2007

Nootropics are kind of a bust. Learning isnt this determnistic process. If you arent in the mood you wont be able to do it. You shouldnt compare when youre in a good mood to when youre ina not so good mood and think there's something wrong with you. That's being human. You'll find that very smar t people do have downtime, sometimes lots of it (think writers block), and its perfectly natural. The only shortcut I can think of is stimulants, but without insiration you'll just be able to produce more crap as opposed to less, instead of good stuff as oppposed to bad stuff.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:51 AM on September 2, 2007

If its bad a few things to consider: light-grade depression. blood sugar, thyroid, sleep apnea, food allergies, seasonal allergies (december you say?), etc.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:53 AM on September 2, 2007

Again, I'd lean toward thinking you're not involved in activities that really engage you.
Do this:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/01/how-to-discover-your-life-purpose-in-about-20-minutes/
Then act on that, and if you still have the problem, see a doctor.
posted by Furious Fitness at 8:22 AM on September 2, 2007

Nicotine is an acetylcholine receptor antagonist agonist, sorry.
posted by porpoise at 9:11 AM on September 2, 2007

I would definitely get your thyroid checked. I know very bright people who've been cognitively impaired in exactly the way you describe until they found out they had thyroid issues.
posted by walla at 10:43 AM on September 2, 2007

Nicotine will help you concentrate? I guess if you mean "not being in nicotine withdrawal" will help you concentrate.

I doubt it will help a non user at all.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 12:40 PM on September 2, 2007

The short answer is no, drugs will not improve your brain. They'll only make it work differently, complete with side effects; e.g., Lexapro (an SSRI) does improve my mood and help me concentrate on other things than how sucky life is, but it sometimes sets off a hypomanic attack (see my record here) and has really damped down my sex drive (I'd be a very trustworthy Catholic priest). There's an old saying "All progress is lateral," and it's especially true with your brain on drugs.

If you must do nicotine use low-dose nicotine patches. Smoking is for morons; I should know, I smoked for 25 years till I quit in 2000 (with nicotine patches). I've felt slightly stupider and have had a harder time stringing words together intelligently since I withdrew from nicotine entirely after using the patches for a few months, but I'm afraid to restart my habit the way a "recovering" crack smoker probably shouldn't start snorting coke.

I must however agree with the suggestions above that you seek help from somebody with professional training in the applicable field(s). Just keep in mind that in the case of psychiatry/psychology damn near anybody can get some kind of DSM diagnosis and that headshrinkers have financial incentive to not tell people "there's nothing wrong with you, I don't know why you're here."
posted by davy at 12:14 AM on September 3, 2007

It could be (as stated) a large variety of things. Spend a week or two drinking 8 glasses of water a day and consuming no caffeine or refined sugar and see if that helps.

Google 'sleep hygiene' and do those things also. 'Good sleep' can be low quality sleep if you are in front of a TV or computer screen before going to bed, or if you have low sleep efficiency.
posted by doppleradar at 7:47 AM on September 3, 2007

I have gone through exactly what you describe. I have (diagnosed by a psychiatrist) ADD-inattentive type...which means I am not the standard hyperactive poster child for ADD.

I can sometimes concentrate in amazing bursts. One of the frequently misunderstood parts of ADD is that you are not always drifting off into space or bouncing off the walls. You can also have an amazing gift for focus under the right circumstances.

I take Adderall for my ADD. I have friends who take modafinil (Provigil) and swear it is a wonder-drug. Provigil is still under investigation as a potential ADD drug, so it is expensive and often hard to find coverage for through insurance.

I'm with most everyone else on this: see a doctor and a psychiatrist.
posted by nursegracer at 7:54 AM on September 4, 2007