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Lostfalco's Extensive Nootropic Experiments [Curated]

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#1381 Keynes

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 03:35 PM

Some rather sensationalist notes (put on your critical thinking-hats):

My anxiety is completely gone, all of it, as is my brain fog. I am more clear-minded than I've been in over a year. Confidence is way up, and rumination is gone. These are not the slight "maybe or maybe not" changes that I've generally gotten from noots, it's very significant and the difference is like day and night (it did happen over night as a matter of fact). I basically feel "cured".

I'll wait and see if this lasts (quite astonished myself), and then provide more info on what I did (not merely TULIP). Don't read too much into this as it might not last nor be replicated!

Edited by Keynes, 28 October 2013 - 03:37 PM.

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#1382 lostfalco

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 04:16 PM

Some rather sensationalist notes (put on your critical thinking-hats):

My anxiety is completely gone, all of it, as is my brain fog. I am more clear-minded than I've been in over a year. Confidence is way up, and rumination is gone. These are not the slight "maybe or maybe not" changes that I've generally gotten from noots, it's very significant and the difference is like day and night (it did happen over night as a matter of fact). I basically feel "cured".

I'll wait and see if this lasts (quite astonished myself), and then provide more info on what I did (not merely TULIP). Don't read too much into this as it might not last nor be replicated!

Wow, that's really cool Keynes! I look forward to hearing more about your experiences as well as the additions to TULIP that have seemed to work so well for you so far.

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#1383 lostfalco

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 04:28 PM

LED'ed a sore right shoulder and upper back followed by the far upper left corner of the forehead (on the front of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) followed by the left primary motor cortex. Then sat down for breath meditation.

After about 2 minutes of breath meditation, all pain and stiffness were completely gone from the shoulder, and the tension that is always there in the hips and knees during quarter lotus meditation for me also dissipated completely. The whole body was enveloped in a warm, cosy feeling, and the left side of the head, in particular the places I had LED'ed, felt 'active' and very pleasant. This very pleasant state lasted for about 20 minutes. Then, towards the end of the meditation, the tension in the hips and knees gradually came back, but the shoulder/back pain was significantly reduced.

I slept through the night, and upon waking in the morning, the shoulder pain was gone.

My guess is some sort of endorphin release was triggered. Might be worthwhile for other people with aches and stiffness to try to replicate?

Thanks a lot for the info man. I've also had really good results with breathing and meditation right after LEDing...mostly brain related for me. It's pretty crazy how many things LLLT can potentially help with. I think that's actually part of the reason that it's taken 40+ years for mainstream science to warm up to it. It just doesn't seem real that one thing could affect so many things...unless, of course, it plausibly affects something very fundamental and very ubiquitous.

Edited by lostfalco, 28 October 2013 - 04:29 PM.


#1384 BigPapaChakra

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 04:52 PM

Awesome, Keynes! You have had a very similar experience to myself. My HPPD symptoms were largely reduced after one session, and as I continued to use TULIP it just gradually got better. Anxiety was affected to a great degree for the better, as was irritability. I also feel as though it impacted my general memory as one day I studied for a large test literally the morning of and completely remembered a list of terms with photographic-like memory. Literally every term I memorized (even the exact placement on the paper, lol) up through the point of the test.

I've been taking a break from using the LEDs for now as my supplements are running out and I'm going to use this as an opportunity to establish a 'baseline', well, more of a post-TULIP-round-one, pre-TULIP-round-two 'baseline', haha. Then trying to find my personal MED for LEDs and supplements. I have some interesting ideas for alternative applications for the LEDs/lasers or really just red light in general (largely for sleep hacking).

#1385 Nattzor

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Posted 28 October 2013 - 05:09 PM

Some rather sensationalist notes (put on your critical thinking-hats):

My anxiety is completely gone, all of it, as is my brain fog. I am more clear-minded than I've been in over a year. Confidence is way up, and rumination is gone. These are not the slight "maybe or maybe not" changes that I've generally gotten from noots, it's very significant and the difference is like day and night (it did happen over night as a matter of fact). I basically feel "cured".

I'll wait and see if this lasts (quite astonished myself), and then provide more info on what I did (not merely TULIP). Don't read too much into this as it might not last nor be replicated!


Nice! And just wanted to thank you for writing the "Don't read too much into this", most people seem to believe they'll get the exact same results as others.
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#1386 chris106

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 10:10 PM

I finally started to go through this whole thread from the very beginning and....wow! :)

So many interesting topics;

tDCS
Neurofeedback
Biofeedback
Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation
Epigenetics

I don't even know where to start doing the necessary research to understand most of it. I just spend the whole day going through the different studies and all the links (briefly!) and am now on Page 12, dating back to July 11th... @_@'

Anyways, I can only suggest to everyone who also came to this party at a later point, to do the same. There were many revelations and questions answered for me personally. I now realized I'll want to re-arrange my whole stack and change the way I use the LED's.

However, I do feel that one topic hasn't been discussed in enough detail:

protection-glasses/ goggles!

I think a lot of people (like me) might have missed that those are actually an important purchase. So here's a link for those who like me avoided going through the whole thread -

http://www.longecity...210#entry592174

That being said - wouldn't it actually be enough to put tin foil on a pair of regular tanning-protection goggles? I find it pretty hard to find legit protection goggles (like the ones from eagle pair) that cover the 850nm range (which is the wavelength most LED devices produce) -AND that are available in Europe.

EDIT: Sorry if this is too hasty and my question was actually answered a few pages later. I'll continue venturing through the rest of this amazing thread tomorrow and hopefully catch up to this point, soon. :)

Edited by chris106, 29 October 2013 - 10:31 PM.

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#1387 lostfalco

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 11:02 PM

I finally started to go through this whole thread from the very beginning and....wow! :)

So many interesting topics;

tDCS
Neurofeedback
Biofeedback
Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation
Epigenetics

I don't even know where to start doing the necessary research to understand most of it. I just spend the whole day going through the different studies and all the links (briefly!) and am now on Page 12, dating back to July 11th... @_@'

Anyways, I can only suggest to everyone who also came to this party at a later point, to do the same. There were many revelations and questions answered for me personally. I now realized I'll want to re-arrange my whole stack and change the way I use the LED's.

Very cool Chris...thanks for this post! I often forget that many people probably aren't reading through the whole thread. It has gotten pretty damn long. ha

For a quick summary of the thread I would recommend checking out the first three posts here http://forum.bulletp...g-extravaganza/ It's a little dated, but not bad. There's definitely a lot more to brain enhancement than just lasers.

My profile page also has some summary info for people who haven't checked it out. http://www.longecity...1887-lostfalco/

However, I do feel that one topic hasn't been discussed in enough detail:

protection-glasses/ goggles!

I think a lot of people (like me) might have missed that those are actually an important purchase. So here's a link for those who like me avoided going through the whole thread -

http://www.longecity...210#entry592174

That being said - wouldn't it actually be enough to put tin foil on a pair of regular tanning-protection goggles? I find it pretty hard to find legit protection goggles (like the ones from eagle pair) that cover the 850nm range (which is the wavelength most LED devices produce) -AND that are available in Europe.

EDIT: Sorry if this is too hasty and my question was actually answered a few pages later. I'll continue venturing through the rest of this amazing thread tomorrow and hopefully catch up to this point, soon. :)

The goggles were recommended for lasers, not for the LEDs. As long as you're not staring right at the LEDs for long periods of time then you should be ok. =)

Edited by lostfalco, 29 October 2013 - 11:05 PM.


#1388 Godof Smallthings

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 12:01 AM

Short video by Dr. William Tyler on Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation and how it causes neurotransmitter release. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyR7yBlTwyI

A video showing transcranial doppler being performed on a patient (just to show that I'm not too crazy for shooting ultrasonic sound waves into my brain). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-thJFYA0SsU


What device did/do you use for ultrasonic brain stimulation?

#1389 lostfalco

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 12:17 AM

What device did/do you use for ultrasonic brain stimulation?

I used this device 6 or 7 times. https://www.medexsup...oducts_id=23548

I don't currently recommend it until more research has been done (it's currently underway!). It was way too stimulating followed by a crash. Here's a recent study on it's use that I posted in the research thread. http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/23219040

Here are some of the older studies
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22664271
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/23596496
https://asunews.asu....news_ultrasound
http://www.scienceda...30515094825.htm
http://www.scienceda...30429164707.htm
http://thefutureofth...n-activity.html
http://neurotrek.com/
http://www.tylerlab....ects/ultrasound

Edited by lostfalco, 30 October 2013 - 12:18 AM.

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#1390 Godof Smallthings

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 12:32 AM

Thanks a lot Falco! :)

Would you agree with Hammeroff's subjective evaluation that it feels like 'having a Martini'? (I understand that in his world that is probably something positive, however, for me it is a particularly bad example as I really do not care for the taste of Martini, nor are the effects of alcohol particularly interesting, and also, if I was looking for an alcohol buzz, I'd just drink wine, beer or a Long Island Ice Tea instead...)

#1391 lourdaud

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 12:50 AM

What device did/do you use for ultrasonic brain stimulation?

I used this device 6 or 7 times. https://www.medexsup...oducts_id=23548


The device itself, would you recommend it? Or are there better options out there?

#1392 formergenius

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 02:05 PM

After reading BigPapaChakra's experience of TULIP improving HPPD, I am intrigued.
I also have HPPD and so far nothing has significantly reduced symptoms (well, screw benzos).
I've been trying to collect data by myself and figure this out, however given the recent worsening of my already horrible cognition, I fear this would take weeks before being fully educated on the matter. Hence, I'll just dive straight in to trying this.

From what I understand this is relatively simple:
  • Buy either or both of these devices: 48 LED, 96 LED
  • Apply to/cover all brain areas for ~7 minutes every other day, or 2 days on 1 day off
  • Optionally take PQQ and CoQ10 every day
  • Wait to become awesome. (few weeks?)
Please let me know if I'm missing something here, but if it's this simple I'll definitely give it a shot.

Edited by formergenius, 30 October 2013 - 02:06 PM.


#1393 Godof Smallthings

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 02:26 PM

Yes, essentially it is that simple, but you should start much lower than 7 minutes as most people get very tired the day following the first session - I was extremely tired and even in a bad mood, but luckily that was just the first day. Anyways, I still think building the time up gradually is the best idea.

Lost Falco's profile page has full recommendations: http://www.longecity...1887-lostfalco/

#1394 formergenius

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 02:48 PM

Ok thanks for confirming! Guess I'll order those devices and start with 1-2 minutes a day. Will report back.

EDIT: If anyone can confirm a EU source for these same devices, that would be great too :)

Edited by formergenius, 30 October 2013 - 02:50 PM.


#1395 Keynes

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 03:14 PM

Ok thanks for confirming! Guess I'll order those devices and start with 1-2 minutes a day. Will report back.

EDIT: If anyone can confirm a EU source for these same devices, that would be great too :)


http://www.ebay.co.u...ME:L:OU:GB:3160

Works great. A 96 LED would be smoother though as you cover a lot more with it.

#1396 hephaestus

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 04:11 PM

You probably want to do 30-60 seconds per location to start out. I got the 96 led light last night and I ended up doing 9 locations in total.

#1397 Keynes

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 04:26 PM

I did 15 s the first time, which I recommend. There's no need to rush, and you check for adverse effects. I only do 30 now, a week in.

#1398 stephen_b

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 05:06 PM

I found this picture helpful for the forehead LED placement (from PMID PMC3104287).

#1399 Keynes

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 10:34 PM

I found this picture helpful for the forehead LED placement (from PMID PMC3104287).


10 minutes per area. Wow. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get two 48 LEDs come to think of it. If you have reasonably sized hands it wouldn't be an issue managing them, and you'd be a bit more effective.

My aforementioned positive effects seem to be long lasting btw. Better than I could've hoped for!

Edit: it's 48* LED, not 46 of course!

Edited by Keynes, 30 October 2013 - 10:46 PM.


#1400 stephen_b

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Posted 30 October 2013 - 11:39 PM

I wouldn't keep it on for that long. I was just struggling to see where to place the LED's.


#1401 Keynes

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Posted 31 October 2013 - 01:08 AM

I wouldn't keep it on for that long. I was just struggling to see where to place the LED's.


I got that, I was just commenting the study. :)

Another thing I've noticed, is that my hands are now much more steady (very noticeable difference!) - I used to have hand tremors. Unexpected and sweet, since I got quite bothered by it. Can't really say when the tremors started, but my father has them. This change came with the others I've mentioned and it seems to be lasting. Previous disclaimer still applies, and I might still return to baseline.

Edited by Keynes, 31 October 2013 - 01:11 AM.


#1402 Nattzor

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Posted 31 October 2013 - 10:51 AM

After about two weeks of not using LLLT in any blinded experimental purpose, I'm gonna do a session tonight and continue the experiment. Will try to be done in 2 months and then publish the results.

#1403 stephen_b

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Posted 31 October 2013 - 02:42 PM

@Keynes: the cerebellum is important for motor control, and should be accessible at the base of the skull. Of course, I have no idea if spending some time on this area will be beneficial.

#1404 basicallyyes

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 04:39 AM

Has anyone read any studies or tried doing this on your heart / lungs / cock & or balls ? Seriously, I'm curious to try this but I may have to buy several 96 LED units to cover the entire cawk. Ok really serious has anyone tried any of these?

Edited by basicallyyes, 01 November 2013 - 04:40 AM.


#1405 Godof Smallthings

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 05:55 AM

In the below studies lasers were used, not LEDs. From what little I know, lasers target more specific areas than LEDs do, and typically penetrate deeper into tissue. Apart from that, I am not sure whether it is known what the exact differences are between laser and LED LLLT, but maybe Lost Falco, zawwy or somebody else here with more knowledge could chime in.

http://www.laser.nu/...editorial11.htm

http://www.lt4pain.c...male_genita.pdf

#1406 AscendantMind

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 03:46 PM

Interesting observations. I'd love to start his muscle building program(s), but it may be heard for me to get in 4-5k calories without resorting to heavy whipping cream or simply eating tons of carbs every day. Now, I'm really trying to add nutrient dense foods into my diet, because even after adopting an ancestral-style diet, I never added them in, simply excluded lots of toxins; now I'm adding in chicken livers, gizzards, backs, feet, and I should be receiving some Deer organ meats from my fiances step father - hopefully liver, kidney, and heart. Most of which aren't too calorie dense.

I'm just not certain on what's optimal, but I suppose it is entirely individual, hence why I want 23andMe and Organic Acid Testing done on myself. I was reading some portions of Vilhaljmur Steffanson's books, and he actually cited the Inuit eating carbs even in winter - keep in mind this is POLAR winter. They ate berries, found in ground starchy foods, twig-like foods, digested carbs in animals and fish, and so on.

I wonder if that is at least partly why it has been used with success in diabetic patients. If ketosis is stressful and solely mimics the starvation processes (which it does, but as far as I can tell that isn't necessarily a bad thing - activates chaperone mediated autophagy, among other interesting things), it seems as though fructose would be the best way to maintain adequate metabolic 'efficiency' (not damaging your beta-cells, maintaining low(er) blood glucose, increasing RMR, producing CO2, NADPH, etc.), along with adequate use of other glyconutrients such as galactose, d-ribose, xylose, xylitol, and so on.



Yeah, to get up to 4-5K calories I made 2 1200cal shakes with protein powder, raw milk, and raw egg yolks, plus 9 total TBSP of MCT a day (in the shakes). I had those in addition to my regular (high-calorie) meals. It took me two weeks to not feel utterly discombobulated after consuming it all.

Regarding what is optimal... I think we, as omnivorous products of billions of years of evolution, probably do not have a single "optimal" environment. I think we probably have a mishmash of adaptations to a large number of environments and foods. Being adaptive requires maintaining the ability to switch from one environment to another without dying; hence, we are probably not perfectly suited to any one thing.

Therefore, I think that the ketosis strategy and the PHD-style moderate carb strategy are both valid, and their ultimate success depends on individual geno/phenotype. (Both, however, are probably 100% better than the standard modern diet). Which is why I am curious about your organic acid testing. Could you tell me more about what that reveals?

Interesting LEF article from 2011 claiming that BCAAs cause mitochondrial biogenesis and complement PQQ and resveratrol.

http://www.lef.org/m..._Booster_01.htm

"A study recently published in the respected clinical journal Cell Metabolism4 reveals that branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) have the power to increase life span in part by inducing mitochondrial biogenesis—the spontaneous generation of new mitochondria.

In this article, the results of this study are detailed. BCAAs may complement the life span effects of both pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and resveratrol.5-7

Specifically, BCAAs may trigger cellular mechanisms that enhance mitochondrial number and function while also upregulating expression of the pro-longevity gene that resveratrol targets: sirtuin-1!1,6,7"

Resveratrol + Equol
"Collectively, these data demonstrate that the combination of two known natural products, resveratrol and equol exerts a synergistic effect on mitochondrial function because stimulates the mitochondrial biogenesis more than the single compounds alone."
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3750512/


CoQ10+Alpha-Lipoic Acid also induce mitochondrial biogenesis (via the PGC1-alpha signal pathway, as the study I reported in the other thread describes).

So here are some questions I think we should be asking before we go all-out on the mitochondrial biogenesis project:

1. What are the downsides of having more mitochondria? That is, why wouldn't we have had them in the first place via evolution? Is a greater requirement for energy & nutrients the only reason (though admittedly it is a serious one), or might there be others more sinister?
2. If there are serious downsides to a multiplication of mitochondria, can we control them? How?
3. To what degree can the number of mitochondria be increased? 10%? 100%?
4. To what degree does this ramp up ATP production?
5. What happens if you suddenly have way more ATP than you did before? Can the body actually use it? Would it mostly be used in situations of high stress or need (like strength-training or cognitive stress) or does it provide more energy for better functioning all the time?
6. What effects other than ATP generation occur through mitochondrial biogenesis?
7. What is the nature of the new mitochondria being created? There is more than one type, I believe.

Has anyone read any studies or tried doing this on your heart / lungs / cock & or balls ? Seriously, I'm curious to try this but I may have to buy several 96 LED units to cover the entire cawk. Ok really serious has anyone tried any of these?


I believe there was a study earlier in the thread on rodent testicles (resulting in testosterone production), but I don't know about heart or lungs. Considering that the LEDs can only penetrate about 2 inches into tissue, I doubt they would reach many internal organs.

Edited by AscendantMind, 01 November 2013 - 04:11 PM.


#1407 AscendantMind

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 03:55 PM

Has anyone read any studies or tried doing this on your heart / lungs / cock & or balls ?


Worth considering. Too much mitochondrial activity in the lungs leads to excess cell division, which in turn leads to asthma. http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2150970/

Specifically, overproduction of mitochondria triggers the cells to divide. If there was a global mitochondrial biogenesis effect, perhaps induced by PQQ+CoQ10+ALA+Resveratrol+Equol+BCAAs+exercise would we cause more cellular division? If so, would it be enough of an increase to shorten telomeres faster than normal?

Of course, it's possible that PGC1α up-regulation would compensate for whatever negative effects might occur since it has a damage control function. But it wouldn't regenerate telomeres.

Edited by AscendantMind, 01 November 2013 - 04:07 PM.


#1408 Q did it!

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 04:08 PM

Would warn staging using it on your heart (bad experience here) unless you want to over stimulate/stress it. NASA applies infrared light to the astronauts returning from space to stress their hearts to help a just back to gravity.

#1409 Raisinthehouse

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 04:25 PM

Ascendant do you have a list of all known mitochondria/atp boosters. PQQ+CoQ10+ALA+Resveratrol+Equol+BCAAs+exercise is this it? I'm very interested in doing some experiments in places other than my brain.

I should also mention that atp itself seems to be a booster of atp.
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22795271
http://www.ergo-log....tp-combo.html#1

I think we should add supplemental atp to our mitochondrial list. Also from a pure anecdotal viewpoint shilijat looks promising.

Edited by Raisinthehouse, 01 November 2013 - 04:30 PM.


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#1410 Raisinthehouse

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Posted 01 November 2013 - 04:33 PM

You mentioned potential downsides to excessive mitochondria production ascendant. We don't really have any way of knowing if this has long term negative effects until we just go ahead and experiment on ourselves, However i think one of the things we can do to mitigate potential damage is to work out A LOT. Perhaps if we keep our body relatively stressed it will have more uses for mitochondria/atp etc. Which will allow less of it to go to potentially nefarious tasks like cell division.

Edited by Raisinthehouse, 01 November 2013 - 04:35 PM.






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