A Gabaergic Racetam and a Bad “Smart Drug” - PASS ON THIS ONE!

Another Racetam hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Nefiracetam, a scion of Piracetam the godfather of smart drugs, is structurally most similar to Aniracetam. It's a millennial Nootropic, being under 20-years-old.

This article is mostly going to focus on decoding what the human studies are saying about Nefiracetam and how this squares up with the anecdotal experiences of Biohackers online.

Cognition

A Japanese study identifies it as a cognitive enhancer...

Nefiracetam (NEF) is a novel pyrrolidonetype nootropic agent, and it has been reported to possess various pharmacologic effects as well as cognition-enhancing effects.

One meticulous Swedish Biohacker reported (quite hyperbolically) about its effect on cognition:

From my first dose, I knew nefiracetam was wonder drug... I would take it in a capsule and minutes later my senses would light up, almost as if I was waking up from a perpetual semi-conscious state... I simply felt very awake, aware, and present, which was just the right state for me to be productive. It precisely counteracted the effects of the ADHD inattentiveness.

Another user found that 300 - 500 milligrams daily was the sweet spot for treating ADHD:

An upside for me was that it had no effect on my emotions or mood. It gave me a very calm and focused state of mind. The effects seemed to be immediate rather than having to wait days for the loading phase that accompanies many of the other racetams... I say it was effective for my ADD not because it necessarily motivated me to accomplish tasks, but because it removed the appeal of distractions. Even involuntary eye-movements (AKA, scanning a page while reading/typing) stopped on their own. When a distracting thought would come to mind it didn't carry the same compulsory appeal that it usually does. I literally "chose" to continue what I was doing. It was effortless focus... not driven or intense, but clear and calm.

Memory

Similar to Piracetam, it's likely a long-term memory Biohack. Particularly for relearning a previously learned task, from an animal study out of Philadelphia...

Significant relearning was observed in the 10 mg/kg nefiracetam group 1 and 5 weeks after initial acquisition... The effect of nefiracetam upon the ability of older rabbits to relearn a previously learned task is apparent up to 5 weeks after drug administration. Under normal conditions, a drug is administered continuously. In this experiment, nefiracetam had a significant effect long after drug administration had ceased.

The studies suggest that its effect on memory does not occur until after 7 days of dosing, so don't expect an effect after just a few days of using it.

It may be something of a Neuroplasticity biohack, from a 2006 University College Dublin study:

nefiracetam, and... drugs that augment cholinergic function, increases the basal frequency of dentate polysialylated neurons in a manner similar to the enhanced neuroplasticity achieved through complex environment rearing. While both drug-treated and complex environment reared animals continue to exhibit memory-associated activation of hippocampal polysialylated neurons, the magnitude is significantly reduced suggesting that such interventions induce a more robust memory pathway that can acquire and consolidate new information more efficiently. This hypothesis is supported by our findings of improved learning behavior and enhanced resistance to cholinergic deficits seen following either intervention. Furthermore, the level of enhancement of basal neuroplastic status achieved by either drug or environmental intervention correlates directly with improved spatial learning ability...

Vs Stroke-Induced Apathy

Feeling apathetic about life?

900 milligrams of Nefiracetam a day for 4 weeks may restore a sense of meaning for you.

From a 2009 Iowa study of 137 patients...

Nefiracetam is a novel pyrrolidone-type nootropic compound shown in preliminary trials to increase blood flow and improve patient outlook and energy following stroke... Patients taking 900 mg nefiracetam had a significantly greater change in Apathy Scale scores compared to 600 mg of nefiracetam or placebo.

From a follow-up study out of the same university:

Apathy is a frequent neuropsychiatric complication of stroke that, although often associated with depression and cognitive impairment, may occur independently of both. Its presence has been consistently associated with greater functional decline.

So the next year clarified that post-stroke, there is about a 25% chance of apathy setting in. It suggested these Nootropics as an option...

Cholinesterase inhibitors and nefiracetam may significantly reduce apathetic symptoms. However, their efficacy was examined in relatively small clinical trials that require replication.

Depression

Now in the Iowa study mentioned above, it did help those suffering from post-stroke depression with apathy but it would seem that for otherwise healthy people it has the contrary effect; more than a handful of people reported that it caused them a bit of episodic depression.

One of the most prolific anonymous Biohackers ScienceGuy reported:

Side Effects Experienced: INCREASED anxiety; SEXUAL SIDES (reduced libido, reduced seminal volume); SLEEP DISRUPTION; IRRITABILITY; MOOD DISRUPTION; DEPRESSION; LOSS OF SELF-CONFIDENCE; AMOTIVATION

This is why it's important to research anecdotal Biohacker's experiences along with human studies. You cannot always extrapolate what a drug will do for healthy people based on what it does for sick people. Drugs like Piracetam imbue the kinds of benefits to healthy people that you would expect them to based upon what they do combating cognitive decline and then there are drugs like Nefiracetam that merely bring sick people back to baseline. This is why anecdotal reports matter, and why I take the time to read as many of them as I can before I reach my conclusions.

Vs Schizophrenia

At least a couple of users have reported that it relieves the symptoms of Schizophrenia, but they come right back after the dose wears off, and over time the Nefiracetam tolerance increases. So it's not much of a sustainable solution for Schizophrenia but perhaps a good idea to keep a little bit of Nefiracetam around for episodic use.

Mechanism of Action

Another Iowa study identified its mechanism as having to do with