
Study identifies protein which improves synaptic plasticity in animal models - ekm2
http://www.neomatica.com/2014/11/04/drug-unlocks-malleable-fast-learning-child-like-state-adult-brain/
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droopyEyelids
There are a bunch of people that are going to hear about this, get excited,
and then test it on themselves. Well, there would be a lot more if it was a
simple chemical and not a protein, but still, it's the kind of thing that grad
students might share with their friends.

And it can and will be a crazy thing to do when they take it. But the point
I'd like to make is that whatever they experience won't be added back to the
sum of human knowledge, because their self-administration will be illegal or
un-condoned.

I wish there was a way for informed volunteers to consent to legitimate
studies about this, because it's like an untapped resource to waste the
courage of the nootropic fanatics who are going to do experiments on
themselves.

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Retric
I suspect people who regularly do 'novel' drugs are a long way from a
representative sample. Ideally you want to test as close to a clean slate as
possible.

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jostmey
I don't it really matters all that much. The real bottleneck is testing it.
Then worry about finding a more representative sample if it works.

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lettergram
The testing was done on mice and the number measurements are limited.

It is probably safe to say, this research has a long way to go before it is
safe to claim we can return an adult human brain to the "child-like" state.

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matznerd
There are other ways to initiate plasticity in the brain, aside from chemical.
Heavy weight resistant exercise is one of those that are greatly overlooked.
There are also nootropic substances on the market that can help with memory
formation and increased synaptic activity, which can be grouped into
neuroplasticity.

Check out this talk by Max Cynader on "Enhancing the plasticity of the brain"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chr3rQ6Vpcw#t=417](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chr3rQ6Vpcw#t=417)

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hackuser
Does anyone know anything about the publication, Neomatica?

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matznerd
The publication is in Science Translational Medicine
[http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/258/258ra140.full](http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/258/258ra140.full)

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gerbal
Terrible title. Should be something like "Study identifies protein which
improves synaptic plasticity in animal models"

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dang
Excellent suggestion. Changed.

