Oxiracetam: Everything You Need to Know

These days, if you’re not seeking an edge in everything that you do, you’re probably falling behind.

With increased competition and advances in technology coming at a breakneck pace, you can either adapt or wind up in the dust.

Thankfully, nootropic supplements like oxiracetam may be able to provide the boost you need to perform at your highest level. Today, we’ll take a closer look at everything there is to know about this potential life-changing nootropic.

Oxiracetam is a drug that belongs to the racetam class of compounds. Like other racetams, it belongs to the ampakine family of nootropics, which affect AMPA receptors in your brain. These receptors regulate synaptic transmission in the brain, allowing neuroreceptors to function at a higher level.

Oxiracetam is the third racetam drug that was developed, and it was first synthesized in 1978 as a chemical derivative of piracetam. Like piracetam, oxiracetam has a pyrrolidone nucleus. However, oxiracetam also adds a hydroxyl group, which may explain why it’s considered to be the most useful nootropic of the racetam family.

While many nootropics primarily support concentration and focus, oxiracetam more closely supports learning and memory retention and recall. A favorite of the nootropic community for several decades, this drug is available over-the-counter in the United States and most other parts of the world.

So, what can oxiracetam do for you? Let’s take a closer look at the impressive array of benefits that this drug may be able to deliver.

The benefits of oxiracetam include:

• Increases cognition and memory
• Boosts focus and attention
• Increases neurotransmission speed
• Largely free of side effects
• Potential treatment for degenerative brain diseases and TBIs

Most of the benefits of oxiracetam are related to its function as an acetylcholine (ACh) booster. Heightened levels of ACh lead to an improvement in short-term and long-term memory, and users also report that it cuts through ‘brain fog,’ allowing them to concentrate to a much higher level regardless of the task at hand.

Oxiracetam also increases the number of calcium ions in brain cells by providing more binding sites for glutamate to bind to. Glutamate is a major neurotransmitter in the brain. With regular oxiracetam use, the electrical currents inside the brain are increased, which can increase brain plasticity.

This powerful nootropic can also increase energy function in the brain, as it provides support for molecules that build cell membranes inside the brain, such as phospholipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

While oxiracetam is a mild stimulant, it’s devoid of the side effects that are commonly associated with other stimulants. If you’ve had difficulty taking other stimulants in the past because of the side effects associated with them, oxiracetam may be a great choice for you.

While it’s been adopted by the nootropic community as a powerful brain booster, the most promising studies related to this drug show that it may be able to improve brain function and memory in patients who are dealing with degenerative brain diseases such as dementia.

While there’s a lack of human studies on the drug, studies in rats have shown incredibly promising results with regard to oxiracetam as a treatment for dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Central Nervous System diseases. In one such study, oxiracetam had a significant effect on the model group’s ability to alleviate spatial learning and memory impairments.

Several other studies have produced similar results, suggesting there may be a definitive link between oxiracetam and its ability to stave off the effects of dementia.

Beyond brain diseases, oxiracetam appears also to be very promising as a treatment after a traumatic brain injury (TBI.)

Those who are lucky enough to survive a traumatic brain injury are often faced with severe cognitive decline, as well as effects to their motor skills and personality.

In one study of thirty rats suffering from TBI, significant improvements were seen in those that were given oxiracetam as compared to the control group. After the third day of the trial, the effect group demonstrated considerably less cognitive impairment compared to the test subjects which did not receive the drug.

This nootropic is most commonly found in tablets, capsules, or powders. The average oxiracetam user takes between 750-2,000mg per day, split into two doses.

Typically, users take a dose first thing in the morning and another dose in the afternoon. Most capsules or tablets provide a 750mg dose, so taking your dose is as simple as swallowing a single pill.

Since oxiracetam allows your brain to use ACh more efficiently, it stands to reason that your brain will need more choline to feed the brain’s increased appetite. As such, oxiracetam is usually stacked with a choline supplement to provide its optimal effect.

The half-life of oxiracetam is only about eight hours in healthy individuals. Those with a renal deficiency will have a longer half-life of 10-68 hours.

This nootropic absorbs exceptionally well, with a bioavailability of up to 82%. It typically takes one to three hours following a dose for the body to reach peak serum levels.

Brain hacking is a constant experiment to see what does and does not work for your unique needs. Some people find that oxiracetam isn’t quite what they’re after. Thankfully, there are several solid alternatives you may wish to try if oxiracetam is unable to provide the edge you’re looking for.

Oxiracetam vs. Aniracetam

Aniracetam marked a breakthrough for the scientific community when it was first developed as an alternative to piracetam in the early ‘70s. Considered to be 2-5 times more potent than piracetam.

While it’s quite similar to oxiracetam, aniracetam does produce some different effects compared to other racetams. For one, the cognitive benefits are less pronounced. This nootropic also produces a calming, anti-anxiety effect, and it’s believed to increase verbal fluency and creativity.

On the other hand, oxiracetam provides a much more stimulating experience, with marked improvements for cognition and memory. Most users are looking for a nootropic to enhance energy, focus, attention, and memory. If that sounds like you, there’s a good chance that oxiracetam will be more in line with your needs than aniracetam is.

Oxiracetam vs. Pramiracetam
Following on the heels of oxiracetam, pramiracetam was developed in 1978 as a more powerful alternative to oxiracetam. Compared to the original piracetam, pramiracetam is an incredible thirty times more potent.

Nootropic users who need to achieve laser-sharp focus and improved cognition may find that pramiracetam is the most useful of all the racetams, and the fact that it’s non-toxic and nearly as side-effect free as oxiracetam make it a very compelling choice.

We would recommend first trying oxiracetam, as most nootropic users find that this drug provides the perfect blend of increased focus and cognition without any unwanted jitters or side effects. Should you find you’re still looking for something to deliver a bit more, pramiracetam is the next logical choice for you.

Oxiracetam vs. Phenylpiracetam

First developed in 1983, phenylpiracetam was developed after pramiracetam, which is an incredible thirty times more potent than the original piracetam was. This extremely powerful nootropic provides users with the most powerful nootropic buzz of any drug in the racetam family.

Users have also reported that their sensitivity to cold temperatures is decreased, and their tolerance of pain is increased when taking phenylpiracetam. However, it’s worth noting that many who have tried this nootropic find it to be a bit “too much” so it’s typically reserved for the neurohacker who has tried everything else and is still looking for a bigger boost.

While there are so many different nootropic drugs available that can boost your mental acuity, some of them are plagued by a litany of unwanted side effects, many of which are severe enough to avoid taking those drugs entirely. Fortunately, all of the different racetams we’ve just mentioned are non-toxic and devoid of any major side effects.

In lab tests and studies, oxiracetam has been declared to be safe and free of side effects. However, every person is different, and there’s a small chance that you may experience side effects while taking oxiracetam.

For a small percentage of oxiracetam users, side effects may include:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Difficulty sleeping

It’s important to note that most of the time a person reports side effects, it’s because they’re taking an unusually high dose of the drug. The most commonly reported side effect is headaches, which is often tied to a choline deficit in the brain, which can easily be remedied by stacking oxiracetam with a choline supplement.

When it comes to the health, functionality, and performance of your brain, nootropic drugs like oxiracetam are the perfect way to get an edge without compromising your ability to be yourself.

Oxiracetam allows you to improve your cognitive performance, focus, and memory retention without any of the side effects that are associated with other stimulants or nootropic drugs.

If you’re looking for a way to get an edge in your everyday life, oxiracetam should be one of the first nootropics you consider.