Razor, This is an article from a well respected research team. They don't sell piracetam. If you know a little of statistics, you'll understand their findings.
Nootropics - and the healthy
Piracetam-nootropics have also shown the ability to improve learning and memory in healthy individuals not suffering from disease or severe age-related degeneration. In 1976 Dimond and Brouwers reported the results of some of a series of seven double blind trials, involving 16 second and third year college students "in excellent health and good physical and mental condition."
Subjects received either 4.8 grams a day Piracetam or placebo for 14 days. In three different measures of verbal learning and memory, the results showed a highly significant difference in favor of the Piracetam students over the controls, with confidence levels of P=.01, P=.02 and P=.01. The authors stated "the fact is that Piracetam improves verbal learning and in this it would appear to be a substance which is.. capable of extending the intellectual functions of man.. our subjects were not senile, suffering from generalized brain disorder, confusional states, or any other pathology of the brain... It is therefore possible to extend the power which [individuals gifted with high intelligence and good memory] possess to still higher levels despite the fact that the range of their achievement is a high."
Giurgea and Salama report the confirmation of Dimond/ Brouwer's work by Wedl and Suchenwirth in 1977. Wedl found significant improvement in mental performance in a group of 17 healthy young volunteers given 3.2 grams per day Piracetam for five days.
Mindus and colleagues (1976) reported the results of a double blind crossover trial with 18 healthy middle aged people (median age 56), with no evidence of somatic or mental disease, based on medical records and administration of several intelligence tests (group mean IQ; 120 plus or minus 11).
Most of the subjects were in intellectually demanding jobs, but had reported a slight reduction for some years in their capacity to retain or recall information.
After four weeks of 4.8 grams per day Piracetam, Piracetam subjects were switched to placebo for four weeks, while the original placebo group then received Piracetam for four weeks.
Results of a series of paper and pencil tests, as well as computerized tests to measure perceptual motor reactions, showed a clear benefit of Piracetam over placebo.
The three different paper and pencil tests showed superior effects on performance compared to placebo, with confidence levels of P<.001, P<.001 and P<.05. In four of the six computerized tests Piracetam showed a significant effect over placebo, with confidence levels of P<.05 for three and P<.029 for the fourth.
A fifth test showed a clear trend in favor of Piracetam, with P<.10. Wilsher and co-workers (1979) related their results with 4.8 grams per day Piracetam in a double blind, crossover trial to study the benefits of Piracetam for dyslexic students.
Interestingly, the 14 healthy student controls, matched for IQ with the dyslexic subjects, demonstrated a significantly better result on a test measuring ability to memorize nonsense syllables while using Piracetam as compared to placebo.
I read somewhere sciency last year that a good overall percentage is 7% more intelligent in spite of yourself. 14% more intelligent if you *believe* in it. Half the actual power is in the belief. Then again... I believe that half the power of any drug is in the belief.