What are nootropics/brain supplements?

Nootropics are supplements, drugs, or functional foods, that enhance cognitive functions such as intelligence, memory, and focus.

Nootropics also called smart drugs or cognitive enhancers—are drugs, supplements, or other substances that improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals.

The use of cognition-enhancing drugs by healthy individuals in the absence of a medical indication is one of the most debated topics among neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and physicians which spans a number of issues, including the ethics and fairness of their use, concerns over adverse effects, and the diversion of prescription drugs for nonmedical uses, among others. Nonetheless, the international sales of cognition-enhancing supplements exceeded US$1 billion in 2015 and the global demand for these compounds is still growing rapidly.

According to Dr. Giurgea’s definition, nootropics:

• Enhance learning and memory.
• Enhance the resistance of learned behaviors/memories to conditions which tend to disrupt them.
• Protect the brain against various physical or chemical injuries.
• Increase the efficacy of the tonic cortical/subcortical control mechanisms.
• Lack the usual pharmacology of other psychotropic drugs and possess very few side effects and extremely low toxicity.

Defining mental function is dependent on the nootropic that is consumed. In most cases, these supplements will:

Improve memory

Improve motivation

Improve attention span

and easily focus your thought.

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