In this post I dive deep into my experiments with the Russian synthesized nootropic Noopept. Noopept is for sure an all time classic nootropic and a definite staple in many nootropic cabinets. It sees widespread use in the nootropics community with some users absolutely swearing by its raw potency. I too fall in this camp of users as I will illustrate throughout this write up.
A brief history of Noopept
To uncover the secrets of Noopept we travel back in time to the mid 80’s. While most of the world was singing Duran Duran, the Russians were buried up to their neck in cutting edge lab equipment and nootropic research. It was in Russia that Noopept was born and modeled after the first and most famous nootropic Piracetam. The Russians were diving deep into the world of peptides looking for a potential solution to alleviating the negative cognitive effects associated with conditions like concussions and other brain related injuries. Both Peptides and Piracetam showed promise in this area of science but the industry demanded stronger compounds. Peptides in fact were notably effective cognitive enhancers but the bio availability fell short and was poorly absorbed in the gut. By modifying Piracetam in a few key areas the Russians were able to create an easily absorbed peptide formula allowing the body to fully absorb the compound. This creation was originally known as GVS-111 but is now more commonly known as NOOPEPT. Noopept remains under studied with only a single human trial 1 yet is perhaps the most popular nootropic currently on the market.
Benefits and mechanisms of action
If you go hunting for anecdotal reports on Noopept you’ll find plenty, especially on Reddit. Some common reported benefits include enhanced focus, easier learning capability, anti-anxiety/depressive benefits, and generally a feeling of being “switched on.” Compounds like Noopept can be notably stimulating for some individuals. For those who do experience cognitive deficits, the experience can be quite acute.
Many of the mechanisms behind Noopepts effectiveness are yet to be discovered. From the studies conducted we can clearly see boosts to cognitive function but science has little to offer us in the way of answers.
What we do know is Noopept increases the expression of BDNF and NGF in animal models. 2 Brain Derived Neurotrophic factor and Neuro Growth Factor are proteins responsible for the survival of cells and neurons in the brain. Both BDNF and NGF contribute to neuroplasticity and the brains ability to regrow and repair damaged neurons and cells. In neurological diseases like Huntingtons there is an observable decrease in BDNF suggesting Noopept could play a role in reversing some symptoms related to brain related diseases.
We also know Noopept is a Cycloprolylglycine pro-drug. Cycloprolylglycine is a positive modulator of AMPA receptors. 3 AMPA are the cornerstone receptors responsible for Long Term Potentiation and signaling between synapses. Generally speaking, more AMPA signalling increases the strength between neurons and allows for the storage and coding of new memories and the ability to access those memories at will. Positive modulation of AMPA signal transmissions are the foundations by which most racetams exert their influence and a core component to long term memory storage. This is what makes nootropics like Noopept extremely lucrative especially in the context of serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
Personal experience
I will start by expressing my deep gratitude to the Russians for creating such an effective compound. Prior to Noopept I was a massive responder to Piracetam and experienced powerful results. Piracetam delivers a subtle cognitive prowess and crushes my anxiety. What I truly love about these nootropics is the complete lack of feeling like you’re “on something.” Take your standard anti-anxiety drug for instance. You do experience clear reductions in anxiety but only at the deep cost of your brain function. The brain feels like a brick. Using these types of compounds is such a brutish method of handling symptoms and not conducive to having a productive day, or life in the long term.
Noopept for me is Piracetam on steroids. I get ALL the benefits of Piracetam from Noopept at a much lower dose. I should also mention Noopept is the cheapest nootropic out there despite being perhaps the most effective.
Noopept delivers a solid psycho stimulating response in my brain. Most anxiety is squelched out quite nicely yet my overall mental energy levels remain absolutely relentless. Most stimulating compounds like Caffeine and your standard run-of-the-mill amphetamines have nasty side effects like anxiety and the shakes. Not so with Noopept…just clean all day energy. Paired with L-Theanine it’s truly a thing of beauty. I’ve read dosing regiments of people taking Noopept multiple times per day but I find a single morning dose is more than enough. In fact, even this single morning dose is enough to make it difficult to fall asleep. I should no doubt lower the dosage from 30mg to something more reasonable like 10mg and see where that takes me.
Social interactions are effortless. The ability to hyper focus is omni present. It’s like a window washer coming through and clearing the sludge from your frontal lobes.
I will say I noticed some strange effects with working memory. At work I would sometimes make small mistakes like forgetting things I had just read. In other instances however I would have a flashback to a memory I had long forgotten about, or I would recall small insignificant details about my day I wouldn’t normally notice. Noopept is certainly exerting influence on both working and long term memory pathways. I do think a lower dose is in order to clear up some of these working memory issues and also adding in a source of high quality Choline is not a bad idea. Dialing in your dose is so crucial to gaining a consistent positive experience with nootropics.
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Conclusion
Overall I feel Noopept will eventually replace Piracetam as my go to Nootropic. I won’t know if this is a good idea or not until much later…but the way things are going I believe there’s a good chance of this happening.
Noopept is potent stuff and should certainly be on your grocery list of nootropics to pick up. It’s too cheap to pass on.
Thanks for reading.
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Thanks Fallon (think that’s your name lol) great shout re: stacking l-theanine w noopept. I will start doing that. I’ve taken a few days in a row of noopept with my citicoline but lack of 0.000g scales have stopped and will wait till I get some before I start taking it again. Your advice please on what I can do: I take a lot of prescription meds, beta blockers, blood pressure meds (hypertension) but also take low dose of amitriptyline and quetiapine along with up to 30mg p day of methylphenidate. I have tried looking up the interactions of noopept with my usual meds but without success. Perhaps there is a Russian pharmaceutical company that use noopept as prescription regularly and can advise me? Daniel
Hi Daniel, it is hard to find drug interactions for these Nootropics. As far as I know such documentation does not exist as they still aren’t widely accepted. I can say that by their definition, Nootropics including Noopept are extremely safe compounds, low risk, and completely non toxic to the body. That doesn’t mean it won’t effect how certain drugs react in the body. For example, Acetylcholine does effect blood pressure through a few different mechanisms so it theoretically could effect blood pressure meds. I would try asking on Reddit for some advice from people with your similar medication regiment.