Racetam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Racetams are a class of nootropic drugs that share a pyrrolidine nucleus. The racetams are understood to work by activating glutamate receptors that are colocalized with cholinergic receptors, thus increasing the firing of the latter. The racetams consequently increase memory capacity by nearly the same method as the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

The first of the racetams to be discovered was piracetam, a water-soluble drug, in the mid-1960s. Other racetams include aniracetam, a fat-soluble drug popular in Japan, oxiracetam (water-soluble), pramiracetam (fat-soluble), etiracetam, levetiracetam, nefiracetam, rolziracetam, nebracetam, fasoracetam and coluracetam.

[edit] External links

• The Cognitive Enhancement Research Institute