- |||||||||| Journal: The impact of psychostimulants on sustained attention over a 24-h period. (Pubmed Central) - Oct 25, 2020
Together, these results suggest that stimulant medications, commonly used off-label for cognitive enhancement may prevent deterioration of sustained attention brought on by repeated within-day testing. Additionally, these medications substantially disrupt nighttime sleep; which while coming at little cost to next-day attentional processing, may have steeper consequences for other cognitive domains.
- |||||||||| Journal: The Psychonauts' World of Cognitive Enhancers. (Pubmed Central) - Oct 8, 2020
These results show that NPSfinder is helpful as part of an Early Warning System, which could update clinicians with the growing numbers and types of nootropics in the increasingly difficult-to-follow internet world. Improving clinicians' knowledge of NPS could promote more effective prevention and harm reduction measures in clinical settings.
- |||||||||| clomipramine / Generic mfg.
Clinical, Review, Journal: Efficacy of nicotine administration on obsessions and compulsions in OCD: a systematic review. (Pubmed Central) - Oct 7, 2020
Preliminary studies have tested nicotine as a novel treatment for OCD patients who respond partially/incompletely or not at all to first and second-line treatment strategies, with the former represented by SSRIs or clomipramine, and the latter by switching to another SSRI, or augmentation with atypical antipsychotics, and/or combination with/switching to cognitive-behavioural therapy...This, however, raises ethical issues related to nicotine administration, due to its addiction potential, which were not addressed in the limited literature we examined. As an alternative, novel treatments with drugs able to mimic only the positive effects of nicotine could be implemented.
- |||||||||| Biomarker, Clinical, Journal: Long-Term Test-Retest Reliability of the UPSIT in Cognitively Intact Older Adults. (Pubmed Central) - Oct 3, 2020
The long-term test-retest reliability of the UPSIT was moderately strong without practice effects over long periods of time in older adults. These results provide indirect support to prior findings on odor identification impairment predicting cognitive decline and dementia, and suggest potential use of olfactory testing as a biomarker in prevention and treatment trials of cognitive enhancers.
- |||||||||| Clinical, Journal: Impact of an Individualized Cognitive Training Intervention in Preschoolers from Poor Homes. (Pubmed Central) - Oct 2, 2020
In the context of a randomized controlled trial design, different interventions were administered to children according to their baseline performance in a variety of cognitive tasks (i.e., executive attention, inhibitory control, working memory, and planning demands). The results showed different patterns of impact on performance depending on the experimental group, supporting the importance of considering individual and contextual differences in the design of interventions aimed at optimizing executive functions in poverty-impacted sample populations in early stages of development.
- |||||||||| Journal: Menthol cigarettes, tobacco dependence, and smoking persistence: The need to examine enhanced cognitive functioning as a neuropsychological mechanism. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 30, 2020
Menthol cigarette use has continued to be a topic of debate among researchers and policy makers, due to its implications for understanding menthol's contribution to nicotine dependence and smoking persistence, as well as its continued use as a prevalent flavoring in tobacco and nicotine products in the United States and internationally. As international tobacco regulation policies have begun to target menthol cigarettes, research studies need to examine how flavoring additives, specifically menthol, may acutely influence neurobiological and cognitive functioning as a potential mechanism of sustained smoking behavior to develop more effective treatments.
- |||||||||| ketamine / Generic mfg., lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) / Mindmed, University Hospital Basel, psilocybin (COMP360) / Compass Pathways
[VIRTUAL] Low Doses of LSD Acutely Increase BDNF Blood Plasma Levels in Healthy Volunteers: Preliminary Findings () - Sep 30, 2020 - Abstract #ACNP2020ACNP_541;
This line of thinking is supported by recent findings with ketamine and ayahuasca (containing the psychedelic DMT) demonstrating increased serum BDNF levels respectively 24 and 48 hours after a single dose, compared to placebo, which was related to fast antidepressant actions. Besides emphasizing the need to sample BDNF beyond the elimination stage, in addition to including behavioral and/or imaging measures, future studies could focus on similarities between underlying biological pathways of the well-studied ketamine, and LSD, as it will contribute to understanding the scope of effects LSD, might have, based on ketamine findings.
- |||||||||| Review, Journal: Posttraumatic stress disorder and neurocognition: A bidirectional relationship? (Pubmed Central) - Sep 25, 2020
With cognitive and neurobiological conceptualizations of PTSD as a backdrop, this review will summarize results from several lines of research including preclinical, human analogue, retrospective, longitudinal, and treatment studies to inform the directional relationships between PTSD and neurocognition. Based on the collective findings from these related literatures, we suggest that a negative feedback loop between PTSD and neurocognition exists but that PTSD treatment and cognitive enhancement strategies may break this loop.
- |||||||||| Preclinical, Journal: Effects of ecgonine methyl ester on cognition in scopolamine-impaired and aged rats. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 24, 2020
Since other investigators have shown cognition impairment caused by cocaine in aged rats, this work shows that cocaine and EME have opposite effects in Morris water maze models. EME might induce cognitive enhancement and relief of anxiety in cocaine-impaired humans, and in other cognitive disorders.
- |||||||||| nitroprusside / Generic mfg.
Preclinical, Journal: Effects of novel hexahydropyrimidine derivatives as potential ligands of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor on cognitive function, hypoxia-induced lethality, and oxidative stress in rodents. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 16, 2020
It was also shown that single administration of compounds 1a and 1e (in 100 mg/kg dose, p.o.) one hour before generation of hypoxia increased the life span of mice under normobaric hypoxia by 30% (P < 0.05) and, after injection of sodium nitroprusside, they decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increased the catalase level in the brain of mice...The results indicate that hexahydropyrimidine derivatives have a beneficial effect on the memory, learning processes, and orientation and locomotor activities of rats in an unfamiliar environment and exhibit antihypoxic and antioxidant activities under hypoxia in mice. The cognitive enhancement can be mediated by the effect of lead compounds on the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor.
- |||||||||| Journal: Suggestion of cognitive enhancement improves emotion regulation. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 13, 2020
Thus, inadequate control of expectation is a fundamental design flaw that potentially undermines any causal inferences. These findings also suggest a novel perspective for optimizing the experimental designs in psychological interventions and advancing the understanding of emotion regulation enhancement.
- |||||||||| Journal: Short-Term Effects of Meditation on Sustained Attention as Measured by fNIRS. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 10, 2020
For the hemodynamic measures of oxygenated-hemoglobin (HbO), deoxygenated-hemoglobin (Hb), and total-hemoglobin (HbT), our findings show significant differences in SCWT performance before and after meditation. Our results suggest that LK meditation can result in improvements in cognitive, physiological, and behavioral outcomes of first-time meditators after a short-term session.
- |||||||||| Clinical, Journal, HEOR: Effect of drug compliance on health care costs in newly-diagnosed dementia: Analysis of nationwide population-based data. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 9, 2020
Our results suggest that LK meditation can result in improvements in cognitive, physiological, and behavioral outcomes of first-time meditators after a short-term session. This population-based retrospective cohort study provides evidence that patients newly-diagnosed with dementia who showed higher initial drug compliance or maintained antidementia drugs (Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine) would benefit in total health-care costs.
- |||||||||| Journal: Cognitive Enhancement and Brain-Computer Interfaces: Potential Boundaries and Risks. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 9, 2020
Author's main objective is to discuss BCI concrete components and potential advances as well as depict potential limitations while using technological devices within the frame of the learning procedure. Within this context, requirements, advantages, possible addiction risks, and boundaries regarding the specifications for brain-computer interfaces and technology in order to serve long-term research and developmental learning goals are discussed.
- |||||||||| Retrospective data, Review, Journal: A systematic review and meta-analysis of rTMS effects on cognitive enhancement in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. (Pubmed Central) - Sep 8, 2020
Subgroup analyses revealed that (1) high-frequency rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and low-frequency rTMS at the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex significantly improved memory functions; (2) high-frequency rTMS targeting the right inferior frontal gyrus significantly enhanced executive performance; and (3) the effects of 5-30 consecutive rTMS sessions could last for 4-12 weeks. Potential mechanisms of rTMS effects on cognitive functions are discussed.
- |||||||||| methylprednisolone oral / Generic mfg.
Preclinical, Journal: Non-genomic Actions of Methylprednisolone Differentially Influence GABA and Glutamate Release From Isolated Nerve Terminals of the Rat Hippocampus. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 28, 2020
Data indicate that MP differentially affects GABA and glutamate release from rat hippocampal nerve terminals via fast non-genomic mechanisms putatively involving the activation of membrane-bound corticosteroid receptors. Facilitation of Glu release strengthen previous assumptions that MP may act as a cognitive enhancer in rats, while crosstalk with ATP-sensitive P2X7 receptors may promote a therapeutically desirable GABAergic inhibitory control during paroxysmal epileptic crisis that might be particularly relevant when extracellular Ca levels decrease below the threshold required for transmitter release.
- |||||||||| Clinical, Journal: Enhancing Cognitive Performance of Healthy Czech Seniors through Non-Native Language Learning-A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 24, 2020
Furthermore, participant's subjective feelings from their self-reports indicate that foreign language learning also contributes to acquiring new English words and phrases. However, as there are very few empirical studies on this research topic, further research is needed in order to confirm or refute the present research findings on the enhancement of cognitive performance through non-native language learning in healthy seniors.
- |||||||||| Preclinical, Journal: Cognitive Function Improvement in Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease Following Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 19, 2020
There were no significant differences in cyclic amp-response element binding protein (CREB), phosphorylated CREB (pCREB), and Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the Stim-AD group compared to those in the noStim-AD group. This study demonstrated that a tDCS in both frontal lobes of a transgenic 5xFAD mouse model affects long-term potentiation, indicating possible enhancement of cognitive function.
- |||||||||| rifampicin / Generic mfg., doxycycline / Generic mfg., Pierre Fabre
Journal: Effect of Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability on Cognitive and Functional Decline in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 19, 2020
Multiple regression models examining the association between systolic BP CV by quartile and decline over one-year likewise showed no clinically significant effects, apart from a U-shaped pattern of ADL decline of borderline clinical significance.∥ This observational study does not support recent research showing that VVV predicts cognitive decline in AD. Further studies are needed to clarify its effects on ADL in AD.
- |||||||||| Preclinical, Journal: Cognitive enhancing effect of diapocynin in D-galactose-ovariectomy-induced Alzheimer's-like disease in rats: Role of ERK, GSK-3β, and JNK signaling. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 15, 2020
In addition, diapocynin augmented synaptophysin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and phospho-cAMP response element binding protein and enhanced protein expression of phosphorylated forms of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), protein kinase B (Akt), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, ERK kinase kinase (Raf-1), and ERK kinase (MEK) 1/2, while inhibiting those of c-Jun and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). In conclusion, diapocynin attenuated memory impairment and AD-like anomalies via activating Raf-1/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β, while inhibiting JNK/c-Jun signaling cascades.
- |||||||||| Journal: Exercise opens a temporal window for enhanced cognitive improvement from subsequent physical activity. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 12, 2020
These data suggest a type of "molecular memory" for the exercise stimulus, in that once exercise duration reaches a certain threshold, it establishes a temporal window during which subsequent low-level exercise can capitalize on the neurobiological adaptations induced by the initial period of exercise, enabling it to maintain the benefits on cognitive function. These findings provide new information that may help to guide future clinical studies in exercise.
- |||||||||| ACD856 / AlzeCure
[VIRTUAL] ACD856, A NOVEL COGNITIVE ENHANCER TARGETING NEUROTROPHIN SIGNALING FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE () - Aug 10, 2020 - Abstract #CTAD2020CTAD_168;
The consistent positive preclinical effects of ACD856 on cognition, the observation that it acts in an additive manner to physostigmine, the effects exerted on neurotransmitters in the hippocampus, as well as the scientific evidence supporting a key role of neurotrophins in synaptic plasticity and cognitive function, indicate a broad applicability of ACD856 for cognitive disorders. Further development is supported by the recently conducted clinical microdose study and preparations are currently ongoing to initiate further clinical trials, with a planned start by the end of 2020.
- |||||||||| galantamine hydrobromide / Generic mfg.
Retrospective data, Journal: Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of galantamine in schizophrenia: significant cognitive enhancement. (Pubmed Central) - Aug 9, 2020
Nicotinergic medications, like any other add-on medications, are unlikely to be effective as stand-alone medications. Hence, these medications may have to be combined with other medications with complementary mechanisms such as glutamatergic/N-methyl-D-aspartate systems to detect a meaningful effect size for the three domains of psychopathology.
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