Brain-function enhancing drugs

Tacrine has been found to be somewhat effective in patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms of this disease for improvement of cognitive functions. The drug is primarily a reversible cholinesterase inhibitor that increases the concentration of functional ACh in the brain. However, the pharmacology of tacrine is complex the drug also acts as a muscarinic receptor modulator in that it has partial agonistic activity, as well as weak antagonistic activity on muscarinic receptors in the CNS. In addition, tacrine appears to enhance the release of ACh from cholinergic nerves, and it may alter the concentrations of other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and NE. 

When it comes to alternative medicines and therapies that, like gingko biloba, claim to enhance your brain function, never underestimate the power of your own expectations. Not only does your brain influence how you think and feel, but the nature of your thoughts and expectations can influence how your brain and body functions. Thus, if you expect that a drug will act in a certain way on your brain and behavior, then it is much more likely to do so, at least for a while this is the essence of the placebo effect. It s ironic, and possibly way too convenient, that your brain decides for itself how it will experience the drug that it has decided to take. 

St. Johns wort Depressive disorder (variable evidence for clinical efficacy) May enhance brain 5HT functions Major drug interactions j serotonin syndrome with i SSRIs induces P450, S leading to 4- effects of j multiple drugs j... 

---