Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Orienteering as a Tool for Cognitive Research: An Implementation Guide
Published on: November 29, 2024
[Nootropes (cognition enhancers) and neuroprotectors]
Abstract:
The paper reviews the existing and future nootropic drugs (cognition enhancers) with different mechanisms of action and heterogenous chemical structures, which have been developed on the basis of knowledge of the mechanisms of learning, memory and forgetting, as well as degenerative processes in aging brain and disease-associated cognitive impairments. These agents influence on acetylcholine-, glutamate-, GABA-, 5-HT-, dopamine-, histamine-, adenosine-, phosphodiesterase-, neurotrophic- systems, and neurohormones. Neuropeptides and their analogs, blood flow enhancers, calcium-channel blockers, antioxidants and vitamins and herbal preparations, and some other agents improving cerebral metabolism and influencing the neurodegeneracy involved in Alzheimer's disease are considered. An original classification of cognition enhancers, based on mechanisms of their action, includes more than 200 drugs in current use and those currently under development.
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
Neuroplasticity
CNS Stimulants: Cocaine, Amphetamines and Cannabinoids
CNS Stimulants: Psychedelic Agents
Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
Long-term Potentiation
