You have not understood me. I don't want scientific studies support to each drug or herb. I want you to write me all drugs and herbs you are using for learning (your subjective opinion and own experience). I have been trying different drugs and herbs since my 14 (now I have 28). I have made my own opinion on each of them. For example my best herbs and drugs for learning are :
Maral (Rhaponticum) root extract 2 ml before learning, sublingual more powerful and sooner onset (50g root/ 250g alcohol 60 percent ) - alertness, concentration, mood, reaction time, verbal fluency, memory, adaptogen
Schisandra chinensis (250mg -1g dried fruit 2x daily) - alertness, concentration, reaction time, strenght and endurance improvement
Caffein or (theophylline has longer effect) - alertness, concentration, reaction time
DMAE (50 - 150 mg DMAE bitartat / day) - alertness, concentration, mood, antianxiety, verbal fluency
lavender (0.7g/0.7l water but I eat flower I like it
) - antiaxiety, mood, relaxation, concentration
Siberian root extract - concentration, mood, antianxiety (dependent on dose), adaptogen (jamieson 1 caplet before learning)
linden (1.5g/0.7l water) - antiaxiety, mood, relaxation, concentration
sage (salvia) tea (1.5g/0.7l water)- antiaxiety, mood, relaxation, concentration
lemon balm tea (1.5g/0.7l water) - antiaxiety, mood, relaxation, concentration
All these I have taken and I made subjective opinion on them.
Genesis it is going to be literally impossible to make a factual list because there is so much that we do not know about memory, concentration, alertness, reaction time, mood, verbal fluency and so on. Additionally, a lot of the research investigating the effects of various drugs and plants is inconclusive and contradictory.
Hence, is making a list worthwhile? IMO, making a list like the one you are suggesting is probably of more risk than benefit.
Let's have a look at the handful of compounds you have given as examples
Piracetam - memory
Caffein - alertness, concentration, reaction time
DMAE - alertness, concentration, mood, antianxiety, verbal fluency
Siberian root extract - concentration, mood, antianxiety, adaptogen
Maral (Rhaponticum) root extract - alertness, concentration, mood, reaction time, verbal fluency, memory, adaptogen
Damiana herb - alertness, mood, concentration
lavender - antiaxiety, mood, relaxation, concentration
Can you support any of the above claims with peer reviewed well designed studies in healthy humans. I'm not just talking about citing one paper I am talking about a group of papers that categorically support the above.
With all that said, your intention to provide a resource for the members is much appreciated but in this situation it's unlikely that a reliable list can be put together
Edited by genesis svk, 07 December 2007 - 06:38 PM.