For questions about the scientific study of the effects of pharmaceutical and general drugs on perception, behavior, mood and cognition.

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0
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1answer
113 views

Comprehensive encyclopedia of nootropics for medical researchers and practitioners

Is there a clinically-researched and tested encyclopedia (or similar resource) covering all available nootropics currently known? The Wikipedia article was a helpful first stop; but I'm searching for ...
1
vote
1answer
76 views

Can the neuronal firing rate be increased through medication/diet?

My rudimentary understanding of the neuronal firing rate is that it varies person to person, and neuron to neuron. So any specific number for a firing rate would be specific to the test subject and ...
10
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4answers
5k views

How to temporarily induce low latent inhibition?

As the Wikipedia article says, High levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (or its agonists) in the ventral tegmental area of the brain have been shown to decrease latent inhibition. Certain ...
-3
votes
2answers
137 views

Do smart drugs (nootropics) make you smarter?

Do nootropic drugs like modafinil make you smarter? Are they like coffee?Do they improve working memory?Is there a potential for a pill like NZT-48 from the movie Limitless? From Wikipedia (SPOILER ...
7
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1answer
61 views

Are there any pragmatic uses of hallucinogens?

Hallucinogens (psilocybin, LSD and others) are often regarded as risky substances, therefore they are banned in most places. Are there ways of using these substances that can be beneficial? Or in ...
5
votes
1answer
155 views

With the brain's propensity for homeostasis, how can some drugs be labelled addictive and others not?

The human body is always striving for homeostasis. One of the purposes of the brain is to maintain homeostasis, but also the brain needs to maintain homeostasis within itself. Ergo: Given the use of ...
2
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1answer
89 views

Why can some drugs make us hallucinate and think the hallucinations are reality?

The question above mainly applies to dramamine. I've only taken 1 tablet for carsickness, but I have read about experiences with that drug. I'm including other drugs that can make you hallucinate and ...
3
votes
0answers
22 views

What is the Mechanism of 5-HT2A-mediated psychedelia?

Drugs that activate the serotonergic 5-HT2A receptor (e.g. LSD, psilocybin, mescaline) are notorious for causing psychedelic experiences and I would like to know the neurochemical mechanism behind ...
29
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1answer
1k views

Does caffeine improve performance for habituated consumers?

I've seen a fair few studies over the while that suggest caffeine increases arousal in the short term and that for some tasks, this will also increase performance (there's a few citations here). ...
8
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3answers
459 views

Neurotransmitter based imaging techniques

All the brain imaging techniques I know fall into two categories: Tracking blood Either by looking at the magnetic (fMRI), or near-infared absorption (diffuse optical imaging, NIRS) properties of ...
9
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1answer
290 views

Cognitive explanation of why beta blockers are effective for anxiety

Beta blockers essentially reduce physical effects of anxiety and panic disorder, but there is no proof that there is a direct effect on anxiety. Some scientists believe there is an indirect effect. ...
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