What is the most effective nootropic?!

What is the most effective nootropic?

Nootropics are brain-enhancing drugs, but so many of them, and so little information on the internet, which one is the best?

There is presently no accepted nootropic substance or medication that has a convincing amount of evidence. While substances like gingko biloba and caffeine are reported anecdotally in certain individuals to improve memory, there have been very few well-controlled studies, and these have had equivocal results.

In addition, many naturally occurring substances (herbs and supplements) are known to have serious side effects (kava kava is associated with serious cardiac arrhythmias). Most have unknown side effects, since the companies that make supplements refuse to allow the FDA to maintain any type of side-effect or adverse event database.

For conditions like Alzheimer's disease, certain medications have been shown to slow down the course of the disease's progress, like Aricept and Namenda. However, these are not true nootropics, since there is no reason to believe they improve memory in people NOT affected by Alzheimer's disease.

There has been some basic science research into using neural growth factors to increase neural "plasticity" and decrease neuronal death, both of which might improve memory. However, this work has only been done in the lab, and we are at least 5-10 years away from knowing whether they are actually effective outside the lab setting, much less safe enough to use practically as nootropics. Stay tuned, however.