I actually appreciate the entirety of your reply and the thought that went into it. It provides me with a reasonable amount of confidence regarding the conversation. Please note that I am not going to change my opinion on the coin but nor am I here to actively dissuade people. I merely think that I would like to hash out a few points before I move along.
Glad to hear, and we fully understand if you personally don't want to invest. The conversation is healthy!
That is not entirely accurate. Pramiracetam is in fact classified as a central nervous system stimulant in addition to the racetam classification.
They are not stimulants in the classic sense, in-fact they are psychostimulants. Adverse to the CNS stimulant claim, phenylpiracetam even has anticonvulsive effects.
This is obviously not relevant to the effects nor benefits that nootropic fans are seeking, but is useful for reference regarding mechanism of action.
In regards to Pramiracetam and other claims to CNS stimulation,
/r/nootropics recently had the very same discussion around Wikipedia's statements regarding the matter. There is no proof of these compounds being direct CNS stimulants, these are unfounded statements.
The research done on Pramiracetam has also been expanded beyond Alzheimer's to diabetes (which highlights the ambiguous nature of our understanding of it) in that it is being implicated as a "protein glycation inhibitor". Glycation is implicated in oxidation and dehydration of cells (this is why nano research is very interesting regarding drug administration; the ability to directly effect the health of cells is potentially mindblowing but that has nothing to do with general digestion of racetams) which, when compounded, results in organ damage...to varying levels over the course of impact before failure (which can be decades but overall physiological distribution of resources is impacted...including inclined cognitive resources).
http://www.google.com/patents/US8686037Oxiracetam is also included in the above amongst other racetams...which are both included on the front page of the Noohack website. What is also mildly concerning to me is that most of the 'most oft cited' research regarding cognitive benefits of the former is from the late eighties and early nineties...and are based in observed rat functions (if there is a counter to this than I would be appreciative to read).
Many of these compounds have risen to popularity thanks to the anecdotal reports of users over the many years. In my opinion, Oxiracetam, Aniracetam and Pramiracetam (those who's studies for medical use have been abandoned), deserve far more insight from the scientific community. They seem to have been looked over, yet remain extremely popular in the nootropics world due to their beneficial and desired effects.
The obvious reason being is that these compounds have not proven useful as medication, and thus have not picked up the attention of large pharmaceutical companies who are ready to jump on anything to inflate their multi-billion dollar industry. That said, the claims regarding safety remain and many of these products are indeed licensed by (albeit small) pharmaceutical companies. The trade names that these companies use for the compounds in question are easily found via search.
The other compounds (Phenylpiracetam, Adrafinil, Phenibut, Noopept) do have more recent studies, which as mentioned, we will be referring to more in the next couple of days.
The overall application of a chemical additive to increase and better the functioning of ones body is a great thing indeed. It is something that I would love to see. There is no arguing that there is a possibility that racetams do increase cognitive focus. But there is no consensus on how that focus manifests nor is there any way to determine how responsible the user is...meaning there is a valid chance that misconception will lead to misuse - it can effect dietary (or is effected by) and activity habits and interrupt the circadian rhythm to an extent that negates the benefits. As well, there is no way to know if it is merely a cellular cleansing or incremental knowledge increase...the former leads to a better physiological feeling which may be misconstrued with increased intelligence and the latter is simple due diligence - research/reading/discussion/sleep/rinse and repeat.
My point is that there is not enough to suggest that these drugs actually work more than a placebo effect...and I really do not want to debate the merits of field testing. I might have to bring up a particular trepanation field test that was recorded to prove the cognitive enhancements from actually drilling a hole in ones skull (there are pictures and after a month of jubilation he regretted it). I'm not saying trepanation and racetams are the same thing but the lack of definitive research regarding the cognitive benefits of racetams are still dubious at best.
It is a fascinating field indeed, and the nootropics community is only but expanding and growing in knowledge!
As mentioned, there are plenty of reports and studies that show the positive cognitive enhancement effects of racetams. Of course you still have a point, the nootropics sector in general is only just starting to break through to the general public and the action of racetams are in general very complex, with each compound acting on different sub-receptors and carrying a variety of nootropic benifits that are yet to be fully understood.
The other products (Phenibut, Adrafinil, and Alpha-GPC) have a much stronger history. On the other hand, racetams such as Aniracetam, Noopept, and Oxiracetam remain the compounds which retain the most interest from both the community and analytical data.
In summary, these products have a variety of uses and purported effects, many of which are only just being uncovered!
Kind regards,
The NooHack Team